Because I Know That It's LOVE
by Valenka
Summary: Three years they'd spent apart. Three years in separate countries. Now though, Belle was eighteen and he could have her no matter what anyone said. Title from Lolita by Lana Del Rey. COMPLETE
1. And I Never Listen To Anyone

**Warnings for: Underage Sex, Alcoholism and Gambling addiction.**

November 13th 2019

Storybrooke, Maine, USA

Belle French's first day in Storybrooke, Maine wasn't quite what she'd expected in truth, she'd had a mental image of an all American town, the sort seen in books and old TV shows, but Storybrooke struck her as a place with secrets just under the surface; secrets people avoided talking about. There would be time for discovering those secrets later though, she had to keep some mysteries for at least day two.

The winter fast approached the tiny coastal town, so flip-flops and dresses had given way to wool coats and hats. It was a temperature change she'd never really encountered before. As a child Belle had longed for real snow but, alas, Australia rarely – if ever – got the powdery delight. She'd heard of places further south in Queensland getting a touch of snow but the reports were few and far between and Belle had never seen it for herself.

When her father, Moe, had told her he'd wanted to emigrate to America Belle had been a little dubious, he'd never made _any _mention to it before and it had just come out of nowhere. However, after only a few hours Belle had figured out why he wanted to leave Australia; debt. Moe French was a chronic gambling addict and alcoholic, he managed to hide his drinking well enough when he wanted to but gambling was just a storm that wouldn't stop. He'd betted almost everything he'd had, lost her college fund before Belle had turned thirteen and never seemed even remotely remorseful about it. The only reason they'd managed to stay in their house back in Brisbane was because it had been Colette's – her long deceased mother – and fully paid off.

Knowing her father would have destroyed any attempt at actually moving, Belle had dealt with everything for him; which he'd seemed pleased about. It had killed her to sell her mother's house but it was the only place they'd get any money from and Belle longed to be in Maine. Her heart actually yearned for the move.

The store she'd managed to acquire wasn't overly large but would work fine as a florists what with all the big windows to show off displays and the apartment above had just enough space for Moe to call home. They'd rolled into town early that morning, maybe seven o'clock, and set about unpacking but by noon Moe had decided he was hungry and Belle had started to go stir crazy.

The two ended up making the short walk down the street towards a diner they'd passed on their way in, Belle with a backpack of blues on and Moe grumbling about needing a drink. How the man had managed to repeatedly convince people he was sober when she'd been a kid Belle had no idea.

Granny's Diner, that was the name of the place, quaint and cute upon first glance … and second glance. The place seemed busy what with waitresses going this way and that while cooks worked rapidly in the kitchen, then again it was noon and everyone wanted lunch. She'd never been very good in crowds but she kept her breathing steady and looked around; her fingers toyed with her necklace for comfort.

It was as cerulean orbs flicked to every corner that she spotted someone she'd not expected to see until at least the next morning. A grin broke out on her lips, wide and happy, not that Moe seemed to notice, he'd tugged a menu from a table and appeared quite engrossed in its contents. He had his perfect tailored suit clad back to Belle but she knew it was him and her smile only grew. Oh how Belle's teenage heart soared, like someone had let the light back into her life. For a moment all the hubbub of the diner faded away and only the man at the counter existed.

Belle forced herself under control and took a breath; sound returned to her.

"Sit down, Belle." Her father ordered from their table by the window but Belle didn't move an inch. "For the love of God, sit down and find me some money for lunch."

Belle knew for a fact he'd got almost fifty dollars in his wallet, she'd seen him get it changed at the currency exchange; no doubt that money would be for his booze and whatever gambling he could worm his way into before nightfall. There had been a time when Belle was young that he'd tried to sober up and get help but it hadn't ever worked and frankly Belle had given up, she'd felt as though she'd abandoned her father but the teenager just didn't have the energy any longer.

"Belle!" Moe tried again but she wasn't listening, no Belle was more focused on her prize at the counter.

After a deep breath Belle calmly strode past tables and lunch goers until she stood more or less directly behind the man in his black suit as he sipped his tea. Despite the diner being busy no one say on the stools either side of him as though he'd created a bubble people didn't wish to intrude on. She liked it, the controlled sense of power.

Belle cleared her throat. "Dorian?"

Gold froze with his cup half way to his lips, hardly anyone knew his given name and only one woman had ever said it so sweetly. Careful so as not to drop the cup he set his tea down on the counter and turned to face her.

"Belle?" Her name came out but a whisper.

The teen smiled back at him. Yes! Yes, it was Belle, so beautiful and perfect.

A few people had noticed this innocent girl approach the town monster and paused in their eating to watch whatever would unfold like some sick play. The town folk had been dealing with Gold for years and still came away frazzled and bewildered so what on earth could he do to this child?

Belle beamed at the elder man, her whole face lit up as he stared at her like he was trying to figure out if she were real or he'd actually gone crazy.

"Belle." He said again and she nodded.

She enveloped him in her arms then, quick, needy and loving. Her arms around his neck and her face buried in his shoulder. For a moment he didn't move but she smelt the same and she was real. He snaked his arms around her waist and just held onto her like a lifeline. Belle was here, Belle had come to him.

The entire diner let out a collective gasp when Belle tilted her head so she could kiss Gold's lips, not in the passionate way she'd wanted but certainly enough to get the gossip train going at full speed. Ruby stood behind the counter with a pot off coffee in her hand as if she'd been frozen in time, there were patrons all around Granny's with forks or sandwiches half way to their mouths and Granny herself stood open-mouthed by the pass. No one in Storybrooke had expected anything like this when they'd woken up that chilly morning.

The silence and Belle's absence must have finally drawn Moe French's attention because he suddenly came storming across the diner uncaring who he bumped into and yanked Belle from Gold's grasp with a snarl.

"You again, you fucking pervert!" Belle's Papa yelled. "I'll have you arrested for this! She's seventeen!"

Belle sighed, she shouldn't have done this. She should have waited not just sprung herself on him at the diner. What if she'd ruined it? What if her Papa did get Dorian arrested? Belle wouldn't be able to cope if she'd waited all those years and then destroyed their dreams because she'd not been able to resist him.

"Papa, I'm eighteen." Belle insisted as she wished everyone would stop staring at the three of them. "I've been eighteen for almost seven months now."

Back in May when he'd forgotten yet another of her birthdays Belle hadn't been surprised and hadn't said anything on the matter. Still, eighteen meant she was legally an adult, she could do whatever and more importantly _whoever _she wanted.

"You forgot your own child's birthday?" Gold sighed, clearly he'd not been surprised either.

Gold stood and straightened his suit where Belle had been pulled away then took out his wallet and tossed some money down for his tea. People continued to stare but he didn't seem concerned in the slightest. His cane echoed through the silence as he crossed the diner to the front door and pushed it open, half way through he paused and turned back to the delightful eighteen year old.

"Belle, would you like to join me?"

"No she wouldn't, you sick fuck." Hissed Moe but Belle just pushed her way past him and went to Gold.

"I'm an adult, Papa, you can't choose my fate."

Like a perfect gentleman Gold held the door and Belle happily padded down the steps. The town monster gave a little nod to Moe and a devilish smile that clearly said 'I win'.

For a few moments after they'd left the diner the pair walked in utter silence, Belle had no idea where they headed and Gold seemed cocooned within his own thoughts. When she noticed a large sign not to far off in the distance which read 'Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiques Dealer' Belle grinned and looped her arm with his.

"That's your shop! I finally get to see your shop."

Whatever mental labyrinth he'd been stuck in must have released him because Gold's honey chocolate eyes flashed up to the beauty at his side.

"You're still that desperate to see it?" He asked with just a hint of disbelief.

Belle nodded. "Yes, of course. You always said it was filled with books and magical things." She pulled him a little quicker, his leg wasn't too pleased but Gold didn't care. "Come on, I've waited three years for this."

Soon enough they were at the door of an older looking, blue building. Belle tried to peer in the windows while Gold fished out his keys but the blinds were down obscuring the treasures within. He watched her from the corner of his eye with a smirk, she'd always been so inquisitive, if she hadn't have been they'd never have met. Once he'd unlocked the door Gold pocketed his keys and cleared his throat to get the eighteen year old's attention.

"You're magical mystery tour, milady." He made a show of bowing and Belle quickly pushed the door open and went inside.

Honestly, no one had ever entered his store with such glee before. He followed her in as Belle – unsurprisingly – shot straight to the bookshelves off in one corner. In a way he felt as though they'd not spent three years apart, as though he'd not left her back in Tionken, that quiet little suburb of Brisbane with only her father for company. Still, she was here now, with him, and Gold wouldn't ever let her go; _ever_.

Belle grinned when he snaked his arms around her from behind and rested his chin atop her shoulder, instantly she settled into his warmth.

"Your father made quite the scene." He told her after he'd placed a gentle kiss to her exposed neck. "Not that I didn't think he would."

Belle deflated. "I'm sorry, I know this wasn't the plan, but then I saw you and Papa had been complaining all day, and I just wanted you. I'm sorry, I know we showed up a day early but-"

"Hush, my love." He gave her a little squeeze. "Yes, this wasn't the plan but please don't believe I'm angry with you. I'd have rather it hadn't happened in front over everyone at Granny's but I've gotten out of stickier spots than this. You should know that, you were there for one of them."

She chuckled at his teasing and spun around in his arms so they could kiss. He tasted like tea and something innately him that she'd savored before. Calloused hands slid down her waist to squeeze her backside which earned him a little mew form the goddess before him.

"I love you, Dorian."

Gold hummed. "And I you, my darling Belle."

"Please." She quietly begged as he chest pressed against his own wantonly.

Oh how he'd have enjoyed taking her on his desk, the counter, the floor. Hell, he'd wanted to bend her over in the diner but no. No, Belle deserved so much better.

"You have no idea how much I'd like that, Belle, but not here. You deserve silk sheets and comfort."

Belle breathed out a smile, he'd always been so good to her, always made her feel like the only woman in the world.

Dorian gripped her by the hand after he'd stolen one last kiss then tugged her softly towards the back of his pawnshop.

"Come with me, Belle."

Cerulean orbs flicked around trying to figure out all the things he had nestled away there. Over on his desk lay a small, bronze clock in several pieces with several gears stacked up neatly at its side.

Gold found his safe and made quick work of locating what he'd wanted, he limped back to Belle and held the fairly sized gift wrapped in dark purple paper out for her to take.

"You already got me a birthday present, ages ago." She smiled as she fingered the small sapphire pendant at her neck. Gold wouldn't ever forget Belle's birthday. "You don't have to keep getting me things."

Gold shrugged. "I know, but I enjoy the way you light up." He wiggled the present at her again and this time she took it from him. "Besides, this is more of a welcome to the neighborhood present."

With an excited grin Belle made quick work of shedding the paper away until it settled in a heap on the floor between them, Gold couldn't have cared less. There she found a first edition copy of _Anna Karenina, _a book Belle had always adored; she also didn't want to think how much he'd paid for such a novel. She'd always known Dorian Gold to be very wealthy and she'd certainly known it when her latest birthday present – a sapphire necklace - had arrived. He never made a huge display of his money, the necklace he'd given her wasn't ostentatious but no one would have mistaken it for costume jewelrey; all except her idiot of a father that was.

"Dorian, this is- this is amazing, thank you."

He flashed her that half smile of his. "Anything to make you happy."

Belle cuddled the book to her chest with a grin.

Yes, Gold had won.


	2. Though I MakeThe Boys Fall Like Dominoes

**Tionken is a fictional suburb in the city of Brisbane on the coast between Lytton and Wynnum. It's also roughly a thirty minute drive from the University of Queensland.**

**XXXX**

January 7th 2016

Tionken, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Belle's loving mother, Colette, had died several years previous which had left Belle alone with her father. They'd never had any other family save for her father's half-brother, but she'd never met him, didn't know his name and apparently lived somewhere in New Zealand. Yes, Belle was alone. Moe French had done his best for his little girl at the start but then the drinking and the gambling had gotten worse. Belle often came home from school to find herself alone in an empty house and little to nothing in the fridge. At first she'd been heart broken, felt as though she'd lost both her parents but now fifteen years old Belle had gotten used to it. All that time alone was fantastic reading time, so many books to vanish into.

No matter what Belle told herself she was still lonely. Kids at school thought she was strange and avoided her thanks to the fact people had considered her mother crazy and Belle was quiet and bookish.

They'd not gone back to school after Christmas yet, she'd got a few more weeks until that happened so Belle had basically been home alone for a few days. The sun shone brightly in the sky punctuated by a cooling breeze and light cloud cover. A perfect day which drew Belle outside with a copy of 'Through The Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There' intent on reading on the swing.

The house was quite beautiful really, had a view of the ocean practically in walking distance and a vast back yard to enjoy. Her mother had grown roses all over the yard before she'd died, now though it was left to Belle to do her best. She'd managed to keep them alive but she'd not got her mother's green thumb. A shame, the garden had once been so vibrant and alive.

Most fifteen year olds stayed out with their friends but Belle wasn't like most, not even remotely, she sat out on that swing and read; it was her way of being close to her Mama. Colette had sat with her out there long ago and read to her so it was Belle's way of continuing the tradition despite her mother's death.

She'd gotten roughly two chapters into the book when the sound of a truck backing up drew her attention to the bottom of her yard. The French house shared a large hedge fence with their neighbor but it was constantly getting rented out to people for a couple of months. Some were on vacation while others were guest professors that would travel the short distance inland to the university. She wondered how long the new resident would stay, a month or two probably, most did.

While Belle's home was semi-large it was clearly old and hadn't had much work done on it in the past twenty years; the only reason they still had a home was because Colette had inherited it from her parents and Moe from his wife. The one across the way though, it sat atop a mound-like hill and had been modernized within and inch of its life. It had even got a bloody pool which Belle had been jealous about in the heat of summer. Large glass windows and rich wood finishes, she'd often wanted to go explore the place.

Whoever the new people were she hoped they weren't like the last couple. They'd been on vacation from what she'd been able to gather but all they'd done was scream and yell at one another about someone named 'Samantha'. Belle didn't know who the woman was but by some of the stuff that had been yelled Belle would have settled on mistress.

She set her book down and peered up over the hedge, not very hard since it had a big dip in it at one end, and tried to get a look at the new inhabitants. Blue orbs watched as men carried a few boxes into the house and the finally someone came into view. It was an older guy, not very tall with a cane and a suit that was much too black for an Australian climate. Belle couldn't see his face but she did like the way his hair brushed his shoulders, it was unusual, to her at least.

Belle watched a little longer but she never saw a wife, husband or anyone who could have been considered a partner. When she added that factor to him being in a suit he screamed visiting professor.

"At least he won't start screaming." She hoped.

With her curiosity satisfied for the time being Belle returned to her book completely unaware that her attention had drawn someone else's to her.

Belle read for several hours until her stomach started to rumble and she headed inside in search of an early dinner. The fridge wasn't all that impressive but there were eggs and some ham so she decided on an omelet. Over the years she'd mastered them quite well.

In the middle of the night, long after she'd gone to bed she heard the loud slam of the front door and the traditional thud as her Papa yanked off his shoes and dropped them. He stomped up the stairs, into his bedroom and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Drunk then." She sighed quietly to herself.

He'd no doubt scare the crap out of her the next morning when he got up for work, off to pretend he wasn't an alcoholic. How Moe French managed to wash away the stench and pretend he was a fine, upstanding member of society Belle wouldn't ever know. It was almost like someone else went to work for him.

She pushed herself up to look out her window then, she'd always enjoyed staring up at the stars but instead the house across the way caught her attention. A quick glance at her bedside clock said it had just gone three in the morning and yet the lights were all still on over there. She couldn't help but wonder where this stranger had come from. Maybe he was secretly some magical prince who'd come for some anonymity like in one of those terrible Hallmark movies.

Belle chuckled. "I've read too may books, haven't I?"

When snoring sounded from the next room Belle sighed and settled back down on her side. Belle's life could have been far worse, she knew that. Her Papa had never hit her, hadn't ever humiliated her or hurt her in any way. Yes, he hissed at her sometimes but Belle knew he'd taken her mother's death hard, of course he had. Maybe that was just her making excuses for an emotionally neglectful father.

Belle lay there a time wondering what the man in the next house was like, did he have children? If so then how did he feel being away from them? In the end Belle slipped into sleep without even noticing. Slumber took her and dreams of the books she'd read comforted her.

The next morning she – surprisingly – didn't hear her father when he left and woke up feeling well rested and happy. Not unheard off but certainly unusual since Moe's drinking had gotten worse. The fifteen year old hopped out of bed and indulged herself in a long shower then dressed in a simple white dress. She padded down the stairs knowing she'd have the house to herself all day and rushed to her mother's record player which she'd hidden at the back of the coat closet so her father couldn't pawn it when he got drunk and desperate for gambling money. She set it up with a smile and didn't even need to pause a second to grab her _Rumours_ by_ Fleetwood Mac_ and set it atop the turntable. Her mother had once had quite the collection and Belle had saved and hidden what she could.

The auburn-haired beauty twirled around and danced happily feeling as though her mother danced beside her. Belle spun across the living room, around a chair and into the kitchen where she was forced to stop lest she fall flat on her ass. The teen giggled to herself as the world spun past her and slowly calmed and stilled.

Those cerulean gemstones locked on something then, a small cupcake sat neatly on a plate on the kitchen table. With a breathy smile she approached and picked the cake, red velvet with cream cheese frosting and decorated with a tiny chocolate heart. Red velvet had always been her favorite. This was why she defended her father inside her mind, he had his problems there was no denying that but he did love her. Since her mother's death Moe hadn't said it, Belle suspected the words hurt too much, but every now and again he'd do something like this; his way of saying it.

The song continued and Belle threw open the patio doors from the kitchen, she grabbed her book from where she'd left it on the kitchen table as well as her cupcake and headed out to the swing. Oh so carefully she set the cupcake down while she found her page but soon took a large, indulgent bite of it and hummed happily.

Only when the record ended did Belle close her book. She changed it to David Bowie and went out to tend to her mother's roses. Yellow, red, pink, white, Colette had ensured every color was there growing. Belle watered them as she hummed along to _Let's Dance_.

It wasn't until she felt eyes on her that Belle halted in her movements, the song continued but Belle had ground to a tense halt. Why? She glanced up at the patio doors wondering if her Papa had come home early for some reason but no, the doorway stood empty. The fluffy calico cat that sometimes cut through their garden wasn't anywhere to be seen either. Then she spotted him, the newcomer sat on the bench just outside his rented house. He sat their quietly with a newspaper in his hands but his eyes were on her rather than the print. At first she wondered if the music was too loud but no one else had ever complained and the older man didn't look irritated. Belle tried to brush it off, it was just some strange occurrence, like they'd both glanced up at the same time and were now stuck staring at one another over a hedge. Slowly she shuffled the heavy watering can into one hand so she could raise the other and send him a polite wave, it took him a moment but the man waved back though far more mutely. He went back inside the house then and Belle didn't quite know what to make of the situation.

The next day Belle didn't see her new neighbor at all and his car wasn't there either. The day afterwards though there he was on that bench again with a newspaper and his eyes on her as Belle watered the rest of the garden; she remembered that day well because she'd soaked herself through with the hose. At first Belle hadn't thought much about the man in the next house, he always waved back at her and hadn't caused any problems. Belle still didn't know quite what to make of him, but almost every day she saw him. He didn't scare her, just had a morning tradition of sitting in his garden like Belle did; at least that was the conclusion she'd gone with.


	3. I Don't Care What They Say About Me

November 14th 2019

Storybrooke, Maine, USA

Emma hadn't been in Storybrooke very long but she'd been there long enough to know people slamming on the station's doors before they'd even opened for the day was unusual to say the least. She and the town Sheriff, Graham, had already been spun tales of Mister Gold suddenly having a young girlfriend – which sounded ridiculous – when they'd gone to get coffee and now some stranger was about fifteen percent of the way to knocking their door down. Maybe it was just to be one of those crazy as hell days no one could do anything about.

She pulled her red coat tighter around her when the wind suddenly spiked harshly; winter in Maine wasn't going to be nice. Emma longed for a warm beach and a tall glass of something alcoholic but no, her work day had just started.

"Em, can I help you, sir?" Graham asked in a voice much too pleasant for a pre-coffee Emma.

The man spun around, face angry and eyes bloodshot. Didn't take a genius to figure out he'd probably had a few too many the previous night. Emma sipped her coffee, this was going to be good.

"You the Sheriff?" The older man asked in a thick Australia accent.

"I am, yeah. Sheriff Graham Humbert and this is my deputy, Emma Swan." He gestured loosely to the blonde. "Can we help with something or is attacking doors a morning routine?"

Emma snorted from behind her cup.

"It's that bastard, he's done it again. He's taken my Belle."

Graham and Emma flashed one another a look before the bearded man reached into his pants to fish out his keys and went to open the door.

"By 'bastard' I'm assuming you mean Mister Gold, which would make you the new owner of the florist, yes?"

"Yes, Moe French. He's conned my little girl into thinking she loves him. She's a teenager! I want him arrested and tossed in a pit somewhere."

There would probably be a plethora of people to say the same. Graham calmly ushered Moe into the station and through into his office with Emma Swan hardly a foot behind the two men. Gold had done a great many things which couldn't exactly be labelled as legal since she'd shown up but – in Emma's humble opinion – this seemed out of character even for a man like Mister Gold.

Graham fell down into his chair and gestured for Moe to sit which he did.

"Okay, Mister French, I'm going to need you to start from the beginning. I've heard a few things from the people in Granny's this morning but why don't you tell me exactly what happened yesterday, hmm?"

Moe finally seemed to calm down. "Alright. I moved myself and my daughter here from Australia for a change of scenery. We only arrived yesterday morning and things were going well until we decided to go to the diner. It's like he was waiting for her. I don't know how he knew she would be there-"

"Gold owns everything." Began Emma as she downed the last of her coffee. "Probably owns the florist shop too."

Graham's dark eyes flashed up to Emma who leant in the doorway before they returned to Moe.

"Please, carry on, Mister French."

"That bastard planned all of this. I know he did. I tried to get her to stay with me but that fucker has his claws in deeper than I knew. He dragged her out of the diner before she could come to her senses or I could talk her out of it. I want him arrested! Belle is only seventeen."

"Mister French, you seem to have quite the history with Mister Gold, how is that?"

Emma didn't quite know what to make of Moe French, she'd always prided herself on her ability to know when people were lying but she wasn't sure about Moe, what he said didn't seem true but he believed it as though it were all true. _I don't know, maybe that isn't right either. _

"Three years ago he moved into the house next to mine. Don't know why, didn't care. I worked a lot, had to after my wife died. It meant that Belle was usually home alone after school. She was fifteen, had no idea what a man like him wanted to do to her. He got into her head, played Mister Friendly and then ..." Tears welled in Moe's eyes as anger faded to sorrow, "he raped my little girl."

Graham and Emma froze a moment or two. Something really didn't make sense like this, Gold was many things but not even Regina Mills on her worst day would have called him a rapist.

"Was he arrested in Australia?" Graham asked quickly, eyes full of concern for a young woman in the den of a monster.

Moe shook his head. "No. The fucker talked his way out of it somehow and Belle was too scared to say anything. The police had no evidence or maybe he bought them off, I don't know, I just know what he did to my girl. She's not been the same since, defensive, distant." The tears started to fall then, fat drops of water that rolled down his cheeks. "Please, Sheriff, you have to stop him. Who knows how many girls he's done this to and now he's going to hurt her again. The police back home didn't do _anything_, just suggested he left the goddamn country. You have to do something. Help her! She's a child!"

Graham held his hands out in an attempt to calm Mister French back down. He nodded in agreement before he yanked a box of tissues out a drawer of his desk and dropped them down before the elder man who snatched a handful.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure no harm comes to your daughter, sir." He looked up to Emma. "Swan, could you get Mister French a notepad and a pen, please?" She nodded and vanished only to return a few seconds later with a legal pad and a biro that she set down in front of Moe. "I'm going to need you to write down your previous address, the dates of the prior incidents and anything else you think is important. Can you do that?"

Moe's brow furrowed. "Aren't you going to go arrest him and bring Belle home?"

Graham stood and rounded his desk as he spoke. "Yes, we'll be speaking with Mister Gold but I need all the facts first. Sooner you get it all write down the sooner I can return your daughter."

Reluctantly Moe started to scratch away on the pad as Graham slipped out of his office to a secluded corner with Emma. The pair never took their eyes off of him; not for one second.

"What do you think?" Emma asked.

The bearded man sighed. "I think a man who was terrified his daughter was being raped would have been slamming on our door yesterday. I haven't got a clue what's happening here but Mister French is an alcoholic if ever I've seen one. He covers it well but I can still there's the discrepancies in his story. One moment she's too scared to say anything about this alleged attack and the next she's strutting out of Granny's with him. I don't know about you Emma but if I'd been a raped teenage girl who randomly ran into the man who'd assaulted me three years previous I'd have run screaming from the building not waltzed out happily."

"And Gold?"

"Christ knows what that man is capable of, but I don't want to go arresting people for rape without having all the evidence first. No one at Granny's said anything about Gold dragging her out or him waiting for her. Doctor Whale said she went up to him, so did Mary Margaret."

"But what about her being a seventeen year old girl?"

"That's another thing not right about this. You heard Ruby, you know, the man who couldn't remember how old his own daughter was."

Yeah, when Emma thought about it Ruby had been pretty amazed a man could forget something like that.

"What do you want me to do, Graham?" Emma asked seriously.

"I'll keep him occupied for a while and get a call out to Australian police. I want you to go back to Granny's and take statements from everyone you can as fast as you can. If that girl does need help I don't want to tip Gold off that we're on to him."

"What do you think about French's story that Gold was living next to them?"

Emma hadn't been in Storybrooke even three months, she still hardly knew anyone and it wasn't like people were all that chatty about Gold.

Graham shrugged. "He did disappear without a word for maybe nine months about three years ago. Gold left his man, Mister Dove, to collect rent but other than that no one knows where he went or why he went. Could have been Down Under for all we know."

The blonde tossed her empty coffee cup. "I'll head over to Granny's."

Sheriff Humbert watched her go before he turned his attention back to Moe French, the man wrote furiously and acted as though he were genuinely concerned for his daughter. Graham though, he didn't know if it was Gold or Moe who was worse for Belle.

~X~

Belle awoke in soft sheets, at first she'd got no idea where she was but then she felt a warmth pressed against her and grinned. Dorian. Oh so quietly she rolled over hoping to see his sleeping face but instead she was met by those honey chocolate eyes of his. He pulled her naked form against his own and pressed their lips together for a deep kiss. It wasn't innocent, more like a man dying of thirst; maybe he had been, he'd not drunk from her in so long.

"Morning, my love."

Belle nuzzled into his shoulder happily. "Morning, Dorian. That is the best night's sleep I've had in years."

Gold breathed out a laugh and kissed the top of her head softly. "My sentiments exactly, darling."

"I don't ever want to leave this bed, just want to stay here with you forever."

Oh the Scotsman would have loved nothing more. Just to lay there with this naked goddess in his arms forever sounded like heaven, he could have finally died a happy man. They'd have time though, Belle was with him now, in his – their – home and she would be for the rest of time if he had anything to say about it. Hell, if she wanted to string paper butteries around the house and paint teddy bears on the walls he'd let her, Gold would let Belle do anything if it made her happy. He could imagine them sitting downstairs in his library late at night, him reading some old novel to her like he had all those years ago. Still, this was the day he gave her the keys to the Storybrooke library

and as much as he'd have liked to stay in bed with her the box with the keys lay downstairs in a drawer.

"Maybe I could coax you out of bed for pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs?"

"Maple syrup?" She peeked up at him with a teasing smile, her hair here and there like a woman who'd been thoroughly fucked because … well, she had been.

Dorian smirked. "Yes, Belle, I made sure there was enough for you to bath your breakfast in it. I'll even make you ice tea if you want."

The eighteen year old stretched up to kiss her lover's jaw, her nipples grazed across his lean chest which got a little, needy mew out of her as a spark of pleasure shot through her whole body. Large hands slipped down from her hips to squeeze Belle's backside as the kisses continued.

"Always so needy. Perhaps I won't make you breakfast after all."

Belle pulled back then with mock outrage on her face, had her hair not been a mess and her perfect breasts not so close to his face he could have believed it.

"You'd let me starve? What happened to you claiming you'd do anything for me. You're a bad man, Dorian Gold."

He grinned devilishly. "Come now, that's part of the reason you love me, darling."

"Maybe I'll love you again after you feed me." She teased.

Gold's eyes darkened. "I could feed you right here."

"With food!" Belle sat back on her haunches and pointed to the bedroom door. "Off with you, slave, make me my breakfast."

Suddenly and with a burst of speed and strength most wouldn't have thought Gold capable of he flipped them and pinned Belle down by the throat. His grip wasn't harsh or painful, just enough to keep her still under him. The tips of his graying hair tickled her cheeks as that spark of want and pleasure returned to her.

"Want to try asking nicely, my sweet?"

Belle purred and toyed with the hand at her throat. "Would you please make me breakfast, Daddy?"

"Better."

After another kiss Gold got out of bed and tugged on his boxers before he went to his closet while Belle watched from the pile of sheets their bed had become. A quick glance down to the floor confirmed it, her dress was in utter tatters, Dorian had ripped one of the buttons off in his rush to get it off her and it was creased to hell.

"Shame I didn't bring my clothes with me." She sighed. "Then again, I'd not expected to see you until today."

The town monster nodded though she didn't see it. Once he'd pulled his pants on he turned to Belle; so beautiful.

"Come here, my darling girl." He beckoned her with a single finger.

Curious, Belle hopped out of bed and padded across the room to him. He instantly slipped a possessive arm around her slender waist and pointed to an almost empty corner of his vast closet.

"I'd cleared space for you, of course, but I couldn't help taking it upon myself to … acquire a few things for you.

Belle lit up and rushed to the few dresses, skirts and blouses that called his closet home.

"You really do think of everything, don't you?"

Gold didn't answer, just carried on getting dressed, but Belle knew for a fact he'd be grinning to himself like a cunning imp. She left him to donning his usual armor while she perused her new clothes, he knew her well enough to pick out things she liked so it didn't take more than a few seconds for Belle to decide on a short, high-waisted skirt the color of her eyes and a white, sleeveless blouse. Shoes though, that took her far longer, seemed Dorian had indulged himself more than her when it came to her heels; honestly she'd wondered if her lover had a little bit of a shoe fetish. Though beautiful she turned her attention away from the obvious fuck-me heels and instead picked a simple pair.

It was then the scent of pancakes and bacon reached her, Belle hadn't even noticed Dorian leave. She stood there in front of the mirror combing her fingers through her hair happy in herself for the first time in three years. Belle didn't wish any harm on her father but she just couldn't be around him any longer, not with the constant drinking and not when Dorian was there for her.

Carefully she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen just in time to see Gold set her breakfast down on the table before he limped back for his own. He froze by the table when he saw her.

"Wow."

Belle chuckled. "What? The great pantomath, Dorian Gold, reduced to 'wow'?"

She easily slotted back into his arms, that was her true place after all, and smirked internally when his eyes instantly flicked down to her shoes then back.

"I love you, Belle."

She could have melted, this was what she'd been craving for three years.

"I love you too."

A loud knock sounded on the front door then and they both knew that noise, that was what cops commonly called a 'police knock' or a 'cop knock', a knock that left no wondering as to who was at the door.

Gold sighed as Belle clung to him in desperation. He'd expected this yesterday. When it hadn't come Gold had wondered if maybe, just maybe, Moe French had finally decided to free his daughter … obviously not.

"I don't want to go back." She whispered into his white shirt.

He stroked her hair softly, anything to give her some comfort. "I know, sweetheart, but we need to do this, alright? You're eighteen, your father is a drunk and nothing illegal is happening here. They can't force you to go back to him if you don't want."

With that they reluctantly went to answer the front door.


	4. I Know That I'm A Mess With My Long Hair

February 7th 2016

Tionken, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

That Sunday night hadn't been anything like Belle had experienced before, two very strange things occurred. Her Papa had come home just after midnight drunk and clearly having lost whatever money he'd managed to scrounge up. She looked at him from the top of the stairs as he stumbled in and slammed the door shut to the point the painting on the walls wobbled to and fro. Moe marched up the stairs with thunderous stomps and shoved Belle out of the way so he could pass; that wasn't unusual.

"How was your day, Papa?"

Belle always tried to be civil when possible, she still loved her father after all, but that night instead of grumbling something or flat out ignoring her he spun around and fixed her with a stern glare.

"Oh, you making jokes now?!" That had Belle folding in on herself. "Clever little Belle being a fucking know it all as usual." He walked towards her, eyes bloodshot and breath foul from too much drink. "How was my day? How was my fucking day?!"

Belle backed away, he'd never hit her, never! Yes, he'd pushed her out the way on occasion but that was just that, a drunk man shoving whatever was underfoot aside. Belle had seen him drunk before, seen him angry before. However much he'd lost that Sunday night it had been more than usual. When he came closer Belle took another step backwards and instantly realized her mistake, there wasn't any floor underneath her foot and Belle toppled backwards down the stairs and smacked her head on the bottom step. The fifteen year old landed in a pile at the bottom of the stairs dazed and a little confused.

"Maybe not so smart." Moe slurred then shuffled off, the last sound she heard from him that night being his bedroom door slamming shut.

The teen sat there at the bottom of the stairs for a few moments as tears ran down her face with her arms wrapped around herself. He'd not pushed her down the stairs, it had been her own mistake, but the complete lack of care had shattered her. Moe French hadn't ever been a perfect father but he'd never been cruel exactly, this though, Belle didn't know.

Her head hurt as she stood and wandered into the living room where a large mirror hung above the fireplace. She couldn't see any blood and her vision had returned to normal but she looked a mess, her hair was everywhere, eyes red and her cheeks were practically glazed with tears. Belle was a mess, that was for sure. Was this her life now? An inconvenience and annoyance to a drunk father more concerned with a deck of cards than his child?

"I want my Mom." Her voice wobbled as she cried fresh tears.

Outside it was a cold, dark and rainy night but Belle couldn't be in the house, just couldn't. Quick as a flash Belle rushed out the house into the cloudy night, her pyjamas – an oversized t-shirt and green sleep shorts – spotted with rain before they really started to get soaked; Belle didn't care. Moe wouldn't come after her, probably asleep before Belle had even gotten off the floor. She rushed down to the very bottom of the yard until the large hedge stopped her getting any further, just needed to be as far away from the house as possible, needed the air in her lungs. _I want my Mom! _Belle slumped down onto the could ground and just stared up at the house, with the rain and the lights she'd left on it sort of looked like a ship on the ocean; pretty. The sodden grass stained and soaked her pyjamas further and her feet were muddy but Belle didn't care, better outside in the dark than inside with a snoring drunk man.

She cried, Belle cried and cried until her head hurt and she'd got nothing left to give. Crying for her Mommy was a childish thing to do but all Belle wanted in the world was her mother, the safety and love she'd shown her. The auburn-haired teen wiped her nose with her arm then and spotted something in the darkness to her left. The hedge was dying, just another piece of her mother's garden Belle couldn't save. One section – almost in the very corner, probably why no one had noticed it before – had shed its dead leaves leaving a pile crumpled on the wet ground pathetically; looked how Belle felt.

Belle got up to have a proper look, needed the distraction, and found the damage to be somewhat extensive. A hole had started to form in the hedge, she could see the lights of the next house through it no problem. The urge to be away from her home struck again then and she clambered through the wet, dying hedge into her new neighbor's garden before she could think any more about it. She'd just planned to sit on the ground out of sight of her father in case he did decide to search for her but then the sound of music drifted past the rain to her ears. Classical, piano, but other than that Belle didn't know what it was. The lights and gentle music drew Belle towards the house, this was a stupid idea, a teenager sneaking up to her neighbor's house in the dead of night to stare through their windows, God it was stupid! Still, she padded barefoot to his rented house only to find the older man sat playing the piano. Belle smiled, he looked so relaxed through the window and the gentle melody soothed her headache and calmed her soul.

He must have felt eyes on him because the unknown man suddenly spun around to face her, his chocolate orbs found her quickly and Belle froze to the spot. She'd known this was stupid. He got up from the piano, grabbed his cane and limped around to the patio door, Belle expected him to shoo her away or yell, maybe even march her home and wake up her Papa but instead the second of those very strange things happened.

The elder man pushed the patio door open and stepped out into the night. He wasn't overly tall but certainly taller than she was, his hair brushed his shoulders, and had a bold purple shirt on with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He certainly wasn't from Tionken, that was for damn sure. This was it, she'd be yelled at and sent home. Belle turned to scurry away back to her own yard but his deep – and surprisingly Scottish – voice stopped Belle in her tracks.

"Are you alright, Dearie? You're bleeding."

The teenager turned back to face him. Belle wasn't bleeding, she pressed her fingers to her head only to feel a little sting and the pads of her fingers came away lightly coated in blood, she must have cut herself coming through the hedge. Belle did look a mess, didn't she, she was in her pyjamas which were soaking wet, she'd been crying and her face was red. Belle opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. The Scotsman rested on his cane and flashed her a smile.

"Would you like to come in?

Belle didn't know this man, it was the middle of the night and she was stood in a stranger's yard sopping wet. This man could have been dangerous, then again, between the stranger and her father Belle may be better of with the Scottish man.

"... You don't mind?"

He shook his head. "No, Dearie, I'll make you some tea if you'd like."

Tea did sound pretty good in that moment. Slowly she went up to the patio and he stepped aside so Belle could enter the house. Warmth instantly hit her, soothing and cosy, as he guided her into the living room. He told her to stay put then limped away to she didn't know where. Blue eyes glanced around in amazement, she'd never seen the inside of the house before, certainly hadn't known there was a piano in there either. More books that she could count littered the bookshelves and Belle knew he must have brought them with him when he'd moved in the month before, they were all well read but cared for. She spotted his suit jacket over the back of an arm chair not ten feet from the baby grand, jet black and expensive looking. This man was pretty well off, Belle didn't know much about suits but she guessed the jacket had been tailored simply from the suits she'd seen her father and teachers wear.

"Here-" Belle jumped and spun around at the sound of his voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He held a gray towel in his cane-less hand which he held out towards her. "Wrap that around your shoulders, warm yourself up."

"Thank you." Said Belle as she took the proffered towel and quickly wrapped herself up in it.

The fabric was soft and fluffy, warm and soothed the chill that had started to settle in her bones. He cast her a soft smile when she hummed at the comfort.

"Come into the kitchen and I'll make you that tea, clean those scratches as well."

She followed him once again and took a seat at the kitchen table when he gestured loosely to it, this man had been kinder to her in five minutes than her father had in the last month. As she sat there cocooned in the towel Belle realized it smelt of Sandalwood, it smelt of the Scotsman … and she liked it. It reminded her of the way her mother's rose perfume had always comforted her as a child.

He plucked a first aid kit from a shelf once he'd flicked the kettle on, then sat down beside her at the table and took out the things he'd need. Her cuts weren't that deep, just scrapes really but Belle let him check her over and clean the blood from her forehead.

"You're the girl from next door. What's your name, dearie?" He asked after a few moments; his fingertips were warm on her forehead. "I'm Dorian Gold."

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's Belle, Belle French."

"Fitting." Said Gold under his breath, so quiet Belle almost hadn't heard him.

Did he think she was pretty? Belle doubted it, she was soaking wet and miserable. Besides she was only fifteen while he was at least in his mid to late forties, if he thought she was pretty it was most certainly in the way adults thought little girls showing off their Sunday dress was pretty.

"You're getting quite the little bruise on the side of your head, dearie, and it wasn't from clambering though that hedge. Did your father do this to you? Is that why you're out here in the middle of the night crying?"

Belle's mouth fell open but what could she say? Mister Gold wasn't stupid, he'd figured it all out without her saying a single word. He reached inside his pocket then and pulled out his cellphone. _He's going to call the police! _Belle's mind jumped into panic mode and before she'd even thought about it she'd grabbed the phone out of his hand.

"Please don't, it's not what you think. It was an accident. I know it doesn't sound true but I really did fall down the stairs, I missed a step. Please, my father _didn't _do this to me."

It a way every word was true, Moe hadn't pushed her but he had been the reason for her fall. Her father wasn't a bad man, not really, just had his own demons to deal with.

Gold stared at the desperation in her eyes and must have taken pity on her because after an excruciatingly long time he nodded with a little sigh and went to make the tea. Relieved Belle released his phone and left it on the table by the open first aid kit.

"Thank you, Mister Gold." She said with a little smile when he set a cup of steaming tea before her and joined her again at the table."You're very kind."

Gold breathed out a laugh. "Oh, I'm not sure my students or anyone I've ever met would agree with you there, Belle."

Belle's brow furrowed. "Students?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm a visiting professor, well the university prefers the term 'visiting scholar'. I'm teaching English Literature until December second. Last one actually."

"Then you're going back to Scotland?"

Belle hadn't ever left Queensland so Scotland sounded as exotic as Madagascar or Bermuda to her. Hell just going over to New Zealand would have been the adventure of a lifetime for the teenager.

Gold shook his head. "No. Yes, I was born in Scotland but I live in the States, Maine to be exact. Tiny little town on the coat."

"Sounds lovely." Oh it did, it really, really did. "Thank you for the tea."

"Of course, dearie. You feeling warmer?"

Gold gestured to the towel still held tight around her shoulders. Belle was more than 'feeling warmer' her whole body felt practically cosy and peaceful.

"Yes, thank you, Mister Gold. I didn't mean to bother you. I heard you playing the piano, you're very good."

She got flashed that devilish smile again. "Mmm, my aunts insisted I learn. Sometimes I play when I can't sleep."

Looking at him he did appear tired, small dark circles under his eyes similar to her own. However, Belle suspected they couldn't sleep for entirely different reasons.

"It's beautiful."

"Well, thank you, dearie. I feel one can never have too much Bach in their lives. Do you play?"

"No." She shook her head. "When I was little I tried but I couldn't ever get it. Wasn't cut out for music I suppose."

"Nonsense. Maybe you just didn't have the right teacher." Gold sipped his tea. "What do you like then, hmm? Sports? Science?"

Belle hadn't ever been bad at sport but she wasn't exactly everyone's first pick for the team. And science? Biology she was pretty good at, chemistry and physics not so much.

"I do like books." Colette had read to her every night when she'd been little. Everything from classic children's stories to Tolkien. "Always loved books."

"Can't fault you there. Then again, I teach literature, probably my job to encourage young people to read."

The two chuckled and finished the last of their tea. She'd been right from the beginning, he was another visiting professor and it certainly explained all the books in his living room. The two carried on like that for a short time, talking about authors and novels. Her father hadn't ever been a book person so it was truly nice to have someone to talk to who not only took an interest but could give their own opinions and points of view.

When she started to yawn his features softened into a caring smile. Mister Gold wasn't conventionally handsome but Belle liked him, his eyes were quite stunning.

"You need some sleep, dearie. Are you sure you don't want me to call the police?"

"No!" She squeaked a little too quickly before she cleared her throat. "Em, no, thank you."

He looked her up and down, still damp and covered in grass stains and mud. "Would you-" he sighed as if struggling with the idea. "Would you like to sleep here tonight? You can use my shower if you'd like and I'll get you some clean clothes."

Belle knew she should have said no. Everything he'd told her could have been a complete lie Dorian Gold might not have even been his real name. Still, she'd wandered into his garden, he'd given her tea and patched her up. Gold had taken care of her, hadn't looked at her oddly or made any attempt to touch her. That and the man walked with a cane, if she did need to run he'd not be chasing after her.

"You really wouldn't mind if I slept here? Just for tonight?"

Dorian shook his head. "No, Belle."

"Then yes, I'd like to sleep here, Mister Gold. Thank you."

"You can call me Dorian." He rose to his feet. "Come with me, I'll show you to the bathroom and then get you some clothes."

She went with him upstairs and spotted her house through the upstairs window, the lights were still on and the garden door open but Belle didn't care, her father certainly wouldn't have noticed. Gold showed her to a large bathroom decorated in yellows which really didn't seem to suit him, but it wasn't his house. She thanked him once again then shut the door and locked it, it wasn't that she feared he'd come in and do anything, no, just that she wanted to show some caution at the very least.

She stripped off her wet pyjamas and folded them neatly atop the toilet before she turned the shower on and stepped under the warm spray. Belle let out a little hum of delight as the warm cascade of water washed away the grass, mud and tears. Washed everything down the drain never to be seen again.

When she stole some of his body wash that rich scent of Sandalwood filled her nostrils and soothed her soul once again. He really did smell comforting. The fifteen year old found herself knocked out of her happy shower a few seconds later when a soft knock came at the door.

"Em, yes?" She called as she brushed water out of her eyes.

"I've left some clothes for you, they're just outside the door when you're ready. I'll be down stairs if you need anything."

With that she heard the sound of his cane as it tap, tap, tapped away down the hall towards the stairs. Belle finished her shower quickly after that and dried herself off with another of the fluffy gray towels before she quietly opened the door and quickly snatched the clothes up from outside. They were his, of course they were his, it was just Gold in the house. A silk sleep shirt and a pair of sweat pants that looked like they'd never been worn. They'd be too big for her but Belle didn't mind in the least, they were warm and would smell of this comforting man. A glance up to the clock on the wall told her it was nearly two in the morning so she slipped the clean clothes on – laughing when she was forced to roll the sleeves and pant legs up – and finished drying her hair.

"I smell of middle-aged man." She chuckled to herself as she cleaned up after herself and finally left the bathroom.

She quietly padded downstairs where she found Dorian sat on the sofa with a book in his hands, he'd changed into his night things as well and looked far more relaxed than the first time she'd seen him.

"Thank you for the clean clothes."

Gold's eyes flicked over the top of his book to her then and he smiled softly.

"You're quite welcome, dearie." She yawned wich got a smile out of him. "You really are ready for bed, aren't you." He stood and crossed the room to her, from his robe pocket he took a small silver key. "You can sleep in the spare bedroom, it's the last door on the right upstairs."

Belle had honestly expected to be sleeping on the couch, she'd have been happy with that. He offered her the key and Belle took it with a puzzled expression.

"What's this for?"

"You're what, fourteen?"

"Fifteen." She corrected.

"Fifteen and I'm an adult you don't know getting you to sleep in my house. You should at least feel safe."

This was the key to the upstairs bedroom then. He didn't want her to think he'd hurt her in the middle of the night. That solidified it for Belle, this man was a good one.

"I didn't think you'd hurt me."

Dorian breathed out a laugh at that. "You would probably be the first then."

Belle didn't know what to make of that comment but she tried not to linger on it lest things grow awkward. She took the key anyway, thanked him again and headed upstairs for some much needed sleep. Belle didn't even bother locking the door, call it what you will, naïvety, childish and misplaced trust, but Belle never even thought about locking that door. She settled into the big bed and straight off to sleep knowing this Scotsman wouldn't hurt her.

Unbeknownst to the teenager, Dorian stayed downstairs with his book forgotten. She was beautiful, stunning. Belle, such a perfect name. Skin porcelain and milky, eyes you could get lost in and an accent you'd not soon forget. In that moment he wondered if God did exist, would have had to in order to create a beauty so perfect. He wanted to hold her, feel her smooth skin against his, he longed to touch her but no. No! No, he couldn't, she wasn't just a teenage girl, she was a probably abused teenage girl.

"You sick fuck." Dorian growled to himself. "You only took this house-" which he'd thought overpriced and inadequate "-because you saw her next door. Christ what is wrong with you."

This wasn't him. Dorian Gold was many things but he'd never been attracted to underage girls, not once. Okay, yes, his wife had been younger than him, Cora had been a fair bit younger than him but Belle was fif-fucking-teen. This was wrong even by his standards. Oh he longed to return to Storybrooke and just run his shop, why he'd taken this job he didn't know, Gold didn't need the money and had always hated the heat. Regina, this was her fault, he'd gotten sick of her bitch fits and needed a break. Now look at him, fighting of the urge to bed an underage girl.

Gold was fucked.


	5. Just You And Me Feeling The Heat

February 8th 2016

Tionken, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Belle awoke to morning sun shining in her azure eyes, which was odd because her window lay behind her bed not off to the side of dazzling eyes fluttered open to see the clearly not her bedroom around her, then they were wide open. Belle sat bolt upright in the large and cosy bed only to feel a pain shoot through the left side of her head, when her fingers went up to it she hissed at the twinge and found the small bandages at her temple. Her father, the stairs, the rain, Mister Gold, it all came back to her. She'd fallen backwards down the stairs, bumped her head and her papa hadn't so much as batted an eye, in fact, the only person who'd cared was a stranger who'd stumbled across her in his yard.

She'd got no idea what time it was, the guest room didn't have a clock in it, actually the only pieces of furniture in the whole room were the bed and a night stand atop which lay the key Mister Gold had given her but she'd not even thought of using.

After a long stretch Belle got up and made the bed. She peered out the window at her own house … the lights were still on. Belle sighed, of course the lights were still on, her father was either still asleep or had just left for work without even noticing. The sound of a kettle boiling snapped her head towards the door then, obviously Mister Gold had arisen and would probably want the strange little girl out of his house. Belle didn't wish to overstay her welcome so she raked her fingers through her hair to flatten out the bird's nest caused by sleep, then padded down and into the kitchen. There she found Mister Gold dressed in one of his perfectly tailored suits – this one charcoal colored with a blood-red shirt and black tie – stood by the toaster.

"Ah, there you are. Good morning, Belle." He greeted fondly as she lingered in the doorway. "I thought you may be hungry."

Gold gestured to the kitchen table where a steaming cup of tea sat beside a plate of scrambled eggs and buttery toast. This man had made her breakfast, her own father hadn't done that since her mother had died.

"Thank you, Mister Gold, that's very kind of you." She slipped down into her seat.

Belle took a sip of her tea and hummed at the warm comfort that came from it. Her tea finally banished away lingering sleep and Belle truly woke up. The Scotsman grabbed his toast once it had popped up then sat down opposite her to eat.

"I trust you slept well."

She nodded after a fork full of eggs. "Yes, thank you. I actually slept like a log. Thank you again for letting me spend the night."

Gold breathed out a laugh. "You need not keep thanking me, dearie, but you are quite welcome nevertheless." He took a bite of toast. "Will you be alright going back home?"

Belle paused a moment, her father hadn't ever been like last night before. He'd had a bad night or something, even like that he'd not actually hit her. _Stop defending him_ a voice yelled from somewhere in the back of her mind but the teenager ignored it and instead just nodded up at the elder man.

"I'll be fine, promise."

The sound of a clock ticking reached her then, how she'd not noticed it the previous night or in as soon as she'd entered the kitchen Belle didn't quite know, but once she had noticed it the clock seemed unnecessarily loud. Blue eyes instinctively glanced up and it dawned on her, today was Monday.

"I'm going to be late for school!" She squeaked. "It's the first day back. Sorry, Mister Gold, but I really need to go. Thanks for breakfast and all your help last night."

Belle shot up from her chair and almost finished breakfast and backed out of the room looking apologetic and not wanting to be rude. Gold didn't mind though, he flashed her a pleasant smile and gave her a little wave which seemed rather uncharacteristic despite her having known him for only a few hours.

"Perfectly fine, Belle, I should get to the university myself. Have a good day at school."

"Bye."

With that Belle was gone, out the kitchen, through the living room and out the patio door into the garden. She shimmied through the hedge hole careful not to cut herself this time and slipped back into the house where she promptly turned all the lights off.

"I don't even want to see the electricity bill." She mumbled as she headed upstairs.

Moe's bedroom door was wide open so Belle assumed he must have already left for work and just not noticed the lights like she'd assumed. Typical. The auburn-haired beauty made quick work of fishing out her school uniform and changing into it. She smiled down at Mister Gold's clothes when she folded them up all nice and neat at the bottom of her bed … which meant her clothes were still back in that bathroom. Awkward.

She did her best to push away thoughts of her kind neighbor and instead get ready for school. Belle brushed out her hair properly only to find a dark bruise had formed on the side of her head over night, fortunately for her most of it was hidden by her hair and with a simple bobby pin she hid it all from sight.

"Okay, back to school, back to normal." She sighed. "I can do that."

Another glance to the clock by her bed revealed she would indeed be late for school, she could jog and would still be late. Feet quickly padded down the stairs that could have been her death the night before, Belle grabbed her bag and practically slammed the front door shut on her way out. She walked quickly up the street, uncaring about the morning sun, it would certainly be a hot day.

Belle found her mind turned to her father pretty quickly once she'd started on her way to school. Her papa wasn't really a _good _parent any longer but he'd never been abusive or violent. She didn't know what to make of last night, he'd not hit her or really done anything to actually harm her, but he'd not cared when she'd fallen, not at all, and that hurt her more than if he had actually slapped her. Moe wouldn't be like that again though, right? He'd lost more than usual at his poker night, must have, that was the only reason he'd been … a complete and utter prick.

She jumped when a car horn beeped twice and her eyes flashed down to the red car at her side. Belle's brow furrowed deeply until the window rolled down to reveal her new neighbor. Instantly her heart relaxed and a soft smile settled on Belle's beautiful face.

"Hello again, Mister Gold." She greeted politely.

"I told you, you can call me Dorian." Something told Belle not a lot of people knew his name. Dorian, an amusing name for a man who taught literature. "Would you like a ride to school? You did say you'd be late."

Gods Gold couldn't even begin to describe how desperately he wanted her to say yes, wanted her in his car close to him again. Especially in that little blue and white plaid skirt of hers. She'd been stunning that morning when she'd come down for breakfast, all sleepy-eyed and tiny in his clothes. _What the fuck is actually mentally wrong with you, _he chastised himself as Belle muttered about not wanting to put him out, _she is fifteen and doesn't need some pervert coaxing her into his car, in broad fucking daylight, because he's got a hard on for her! _The voice screaming at him inside his head ground to a sudden halt when Belle miraculously agreed and slipped into the passenger seat. Either this girl was too trusting or Gold had proven to be far too good at talking teenagers into his car.

"Thank you. I really don't want to be late."

"Not a problem, Belle." He told her honestly as he turned towards the school. "I miss my Cadillac." he muttered under his breath a few moments later.

Belle raised an eyebrow. "Cadillac?"

"Yes, it's sat in my garage back home. This thing is a rental while I'm here, not used to driving on the other side of the road either."

"Try not to kill us." She chuckled.

Gold delighted in that sound, it was heavenly; maybe taking this teaching job wasn't so bad after all. They chit-chatted as he drove, Belle just a sweet young thing and Dorian wanting to know everything he could about the delightful woman beside him. She smelt like him too – and didn't that get his animalistic side to growl – smelt like his shampoo and body wash, she'd slept in his clothes as well, thinking about it Gold had been wrapped around her all night long. Oh he was a bad man.

"So what are you teaching at the university exactly? Shakespeare? What?"

It was nice for her to actually take an interest. "Gothic literature currently. Specifically nightmares, it's links to foretelling and the theme's subsequent exasperation."

Belle smiled boldly. "Sounds fascinating. What's your favorite book?"

Gold took a left. "Most people probably expect me to say something like _Frankenstein _but honestly that is unnecessarily long-winded. However, I did always enjoy the line 'if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear'. No, my favorite novel is actually _The Castle Of Ontario, _let us face it, Manfred should have quit while he was ahead. While many would call Walpole's themes and imagery someone overused and convoluted, it was the origin book of its kind, the one which defined all other Gothic literature to this day. Secret passages, fake identities, looming ghosts, all of it as we understand it now essentially came from Walpole."

Belle sat there happily and just listened to Gold's mini lecture of sorts as he drove her the short distance to her school. He seemed so passionate about what he said and Belle adored just hearing it. She'd used to have long talks about books and their themes with her mother but, well, obviously that had been forced to end many years ago. She felt as though she could have had a real conversation with this man, this walking abnormality for Tionken. The teenager wouldn't admit it, mostly to herself, but when he stopped outside her school – with five minutes to spare – Belle didn't want to leave the car, she'd learned more about literature in that one short car journey than she had in her entire school life. Still, she had to go into class and he had to get to the university before his lectures started.

"Thanks for the ride, Mister G-Dorian." She corrected herself much to Gold's pleasure.

"You are very welcome, Belle." His chocolate orbs watched her as she got out of the car then leant so her head half poked in the open window. "You ever need bringing to school, just let me know, I'd be happy to help."

She flashed him that stunning smile again, the one that made her eyes light up. _You're a bad man, Gold_.

"Maybe I'll see you after school, I have to water Mama's roses."

"Maybe you will." Oh she would, he'd be there even if he had to take projects out there grade. "Good-bye, Belle, have a good day."

"Bye, Dorian, you too."

He watched her in the side mirror as she rushed to the gate to get to her classes on time, a couple of other kids did the same but Gold couldn't have cared less about them. No, Gold focused on the fifteen year old he'd started to realize he was getting a little obsessed with. When she finally left his sight the middle-aged man rested his head against the steering wheel and sighed, why couldn't she have been at least eighteen? Oh it didn't matter, Belle was a lonely girl who just needed a little help, the most she'd ever give Gold was her friendship.

**XXXX**

** Quote is from Chapter 17 of Frankenstein.  
**


	6. I Want My Cake And I Want To Eat It Too

November 14th 2019

Storybrooke, Maine, USA

Belle and the resident town monster had been asked outright to go with Sheriff Graham to the station and while Belle had urged to day no and slam the door in her face, Dorian knew better. The hour a strange one, where everyone was either still asleep or already at work; either way no one to stare awkwardly from their porch and gawk at them simply fro their own amusement or to see Gold taken down a peg. Mister Gold was thankful for that, not for himself – he didn't care what people thought of him – but for his sweet Belle, she didn't need any more stress chuckled on top of everything else.

The ride down there was short – of course it was, this was Storybrooke, the drive everywhere never took long – but from the way Belle clung to his hand it seemed like a thousand years. What if she had to go back to her father? What if Gold was arrested? What would her Moe French do if he got her back? Those were the questions that travelled around Belle's mind and Gold hated that he was powerless to stop the panic and worry. The police back in Brisbane hadn't been able to pin shit on him – frankly they'd been all but useless – and nor would Sheriff Graham and his over zealous deputy.

He silently squeezed Belle's hand before he turned his attention to the bearded man in the front street.

"Is all this really necessary, Sheriff?"

Graham sighed. "Unfortunately yes, Mister Gold, it is. Miss French's father has made quite some allegations regarding you and his young daughter as I mentioned at your door. I'm the law in this town despite how much of it you own and I'd not be doing my job properly were I not to look into those allegations."

Gold wouldn't say it aloud but he admired Graham Humbert, the man was dedicated to his job and a genuinely kind person. Had he been one of the officers back in Brisbane maybe Belle wouldn't have been forced to stay with her papa as long as she had. The Scotsman had always been somewhat of an overachiever, he had degrees in literature, law and a couple of minor ones in restoration, point was he knew how to weasel his way out of things using only the power of his mind and Graham had made a good career out of stopping men doing that. Of course he wasn't threatened by the policeman, Dorian hadn't done anything even remotely illegal with Belle since she'd arrived in Storybrooke so Graham didn't have a leg to stand on. Also, his first act would have been to call the Australian police to try and figure out if Gold had some record he'd managed to hide or expunge, Dorian doubted Graham would have gotten all that many answers just yet what with it being roughly eleven at night there, so they had time to influence Graham's opinion of Moe further.

When they reached the station Graham kindly held open the door for Belle to step out before he rounded the car to open Gold's door instead of forcing the old guy with a limp to shuffle across the seat.

"Where is Moe French?" Was Gold's first question as they headed towards the station doors.

"I sent him home, why do you ask?" That was Sheriff Humbert ever the curious investigator.

Gold grumbled while they walked; Belle stayed close. "I don't want him anywhere near Belle."

Once inside the main body of the station they found Emma Swan leant on her desk waiting for them, arms folded and clearly prepared for this to go either way. She cast her eyes between Dorian and the beautiful teenager, obviously she couldn't understand why a girl this pretty would be with Gold of all people but the way Belle clung to Gold's arm had her features softening a little bit.

"Miss French, I presume." Belle nodded as Emma stepped forwards with an almost motherly smile. "If you'd like to come with me."

"What? Why?"

Gold flashed his beloved that 'it's all going to be okay' look which seemed to calm her to some extent.

"Because they want to interview us separately, Sweetheart. It's alright, standard procedure. Just follow Deputy Swan."

Belle nodded though reluctantly and let Emma guide her away to an interview room while the two men remained behind; Gold stared after her while Graham watched the elder man questioningly.

"Come on, Mister Gold." Was all the taller man said before Gold was taken to another interview room.

Meanwhile the door closed to a little gray room and Belle sat down with Emma across the table from her. She didn't like this, she wanted to go back to Dorian where everything was safe and happy, wanted it to be the early morning again when they'd woken up in bed.

"You can calm down, Miss French, everything is okay. You're not under arrest or anything, we just want to talk and straighten some things out."

Belle had been though this before and Gold had been kicked out of the country because of it; couldn't charge him with anything so decided it was best to just toss him out and never speak of it again.

The blonde looked the younger woman over a few moments, she was clean, dressed well, didn't look as though she'd been crying but one could never really tell; people could be good actors.

"I'm just going to ask you straight, okay, Belle? Do you need help? I can help you if you need it, you just have to tell me what has happened and then you don't ever have to see Mister Gold again."

Fear flashed in Belle's stunning blue orbs. "What?! No. No, Dorian hasn't ever done anything to hurt me, _ever_. He's always been so kind and good and taken care of me."

None of those words were normally associated with a man like Gold but Emma knew liars and Belle wasn't lying. Confused by the whole situation Emma calmly moved on.

"Alright. Why don't you tell me how you and he met, hmm? In Australia, Brisbane, right?"

Belle nodded. "He- He was guest lecturing at the university, English literature, and he needed a place to stay so he rented the house next door to mine, that's how I met him. My Mama always took such care for the garden but after she died I could quite do it right so the hedge that separated our houses was dying." Belle's words were saddened and quiet but Emma suspected that came more from speaking of her mother than fear of Gold. "I know people here don't seem to like him but Dorian is a good man, he's always been good to me."

Emma kept her voice level and understanding. "It's alright, just carry on for me."

Belle nodded more to herself than the blonde across the table from her. "Okay, em, my papa isn't a very nice person, he used to be but then my mother died and he started to drink and gamble. He stopped being a father and became more of a roommate. One night he was really drunk and yelling at me, I backed away from him so much I fell down the stairs and hit my head. He didn't care and I fan out the house, I found the damaged hedge and heard a noise. Next thing I knew Dorian was patching up my scratches and giving me somewhere to sleep."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "He didn't call the police? Didn't go to the authorities?"

"No, he tried but I begged him not to. My Papa hadn't actually hit me and I was scared of being taken away from the house, it was my mother's."

The deputy made a quick note on a legal pad in front of her before she turned her attention back up to Belle, such kindness in her eyes.

"He was my friend-"

"A fully grown man friends with a teenage girl?"

"Yes!" Oh Belle didn't like the insinuation that her darling Dorian was just some pervert. "We were both lonely people so we just decided to be lonely together. I was fifteen not two, just like I'm eighteen now and I'm _not_ going back to Papa." Belle took a calming breath. "Dorian was – _is_ – my friend. He taught me to play the piano so I didn't have to be around a father who was slowly drinking himself to death. He helped me with my homework and let me read his books, and he's got a lot of books. If it was really hot he'd drive me to school because he's a gentleman." She peered up at Emma sorrowfully. "I don't know what Papa has told you about him but I'd not believe it, it's either a lie or how the alcohol has made him remember it. He can't even remember my birthday any longer."

"Yes, Mister French did seem a little all over the place. He said you were seventeen."

"No, I'm eighteen, have been since the May."

Belle had honestly started to wonder if Dorian was the only one who could remember her birthday any longer. Didn't matter, Dorian Gold was the only person she _wanted _to remember her birthday. She'd spend her nineteenth with him and it would be perfect, that idea had kept Belle going for a while now.

"So you and Gold befriended each other. What else? Your dad got quite worked up."

"Because I keep things running. When he got really bad and nearly lost his shop in Brisbane I took over doing the books, everything got paid on time; bills, wages, everything. I'm good at it. Me knowing where the money was is the only reason we managed to afford to come here; and he still owes money to God knows who over there. I'm a glorified accountant to him now."

Emma hummed as she continued to jot things down every now and again on her pad. "That's a good question. Why did you move here? Not America but Storybrooke specifically?"

Belle sighed and went quiet for a short time. "After my sixteenth birthday I decided I wanted to live with Dorian. My father was like a roommate so I didn't really see the difference but he said no. That I was still a kid and he wasn't even a citizen … and then there was the fact I'd never let him call the cops so they didn't know about my Papa. Everything he said was right but I'd-" She trailed off lamely.

"You'd already fallen in love with him." The blonde supplied helpfully and Belle nodded.

"Yeah," she smiled, "he was so sweet." Her eyes flashed up to the elder woman then with blatant concern. "Dorian wasn't being perverse or anything, he didn't do anything weird to get me to like him or whatever Papa claimed. I just- I _liked _him. I'm not sure how but eventually Papa noticed I spent most of my time across at Dorian's house and he flipped out, called the police claiming that Dorian had lured me into his house so he could rape me, that he'd tried to kidnap me. The story kept changing."

"And what happened then?"

"I'm not really sure, I was kept away from a lot of it. Couldn't see Dorian and the next thing I knew I was being asked if he'd touched me inappropriately and if he'd tried to force himself on me, which was ridiculous because he'd _never _hurt me. He never forced himself on me, he never made me uncomfortable, Papa just made those things up."

"How did the police handle the situation? Gold returned here to Storybrooke soon afterwards."

"One of the cops noticed my Papa was drunk off his ass and after they'd talked to Dorian and I they seemed to get the idea that he was just a nice neighbor who'd taken care of a lonely girl. Papa was given a support worker of sorts, I never really understood it, but it meant I could stay in the house and finish school. I guess since I'd never mentioned any abuse and my grades were still pretty good they decided I'd not been neglected – physically at least. I stayed and the support worker made sure of it as long as he went to AA meetings." Belle sighed. "He's a functioning alcoholic, he can pretend he's sober when he wants to. I have no idea how he managed it but less than a year later she'd sodded off somewhere else and Papa had gone straight back to guzzling vodka. When he decided he wanted to move to America I pushed him to come here so I could get my friend back."

When the interview ended Emma slipped out of the room and leaned against he wall beside the door. _And I thought I'd had a shitty childhood_, muttered her mind. They wouldn't know until Australian police got back to them but Emma believed Belle. She'd said Gold hadn't forced himself on her and that was true. Said her father made things up and that was most certainly true. From what Emma could tell this was an alcoholic father disapproving of his daughter's taste in men. A strange case but it didn't look like anything illegal had been going on; except for maybe Moe French wasting police time.

She'd interview everyone back at the diner as well, and it all matched up. Belle had gone up to Gold, he'd not dragged her out like Moe had claimed but calmly asked if she'd wished to go with him. Emma Swan didn't for one second believe Mister Gold was a good man but that didn't mean he wasn't good to young Belle. The age gap stood out but age gaps weren't anything uncommon nowadays, she wanted to date Gold then Belle had every right to. Hopefully it would all make more sense after Graham was done interviewing Gold and Brisbane got back to them.


	7. Topple You Down From Your Sky

March 19th 2016

Tionken, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Belle wasn't entirely sure how it had happened but over the last month or so she and the mysterious Dorian Gold had somehow managed to be come friends; odd for a fifteen year old and a fully grown man but Belle tried not to think about it in too much depth. She'd actually started to spend most of her time at Dorian's rented house, either Moe wouldn't have come home or Belle would just wait until he passed out drunk or wandered off to gamble away what little money they had.

That Saturday night Belle did the latter. Moe French had returned to his not-a-great-dad-but-better-than-you'd-imagine style parenting again and Belle had all but forgotten the incident on the stairs, Moe had probably forgotten about it due to how drunk he'd been so his daughter had tried to do the same.

As soon as Moe slammed the front door shut for the night Belle left her bed where she'd been reading _Her Handsome Hero_ – a personal favorite – and tied on her green flats quickly but not in a rush then grabbed her homework off the nightstand. She flicked off all the lights as she made her way through the house and only paused to check her Papa had actually locked the front door which amazingly he had. She slipped out into the vast back yard and made her way down to the hedge and easily passed through. Gold's house was lit up in the night almost like a cosy fireplace in an otherwise black living room, the sort of look that made even the coldest night feel warm.

The teenager knocked politely on the glass doors as she entered to announce her presence and instantly the scent of tomato and garlic reached her; smelt divine. She'd very quickly come to the conclusion that Mister Gold might not have been winning any awards for it but he could damn well cook. To Belle this was what a home should have smelt like, cosy warmth and a home cooked meal in progress; she remembered her own house smelling like that when her Mama had been alive.

"Evening, Dorian." Belle smiled as she entered the kitchen.

He stood hunched by the oven as he slipped a tray of something inside and closed the door. When he straightened up Gold planted his cane between his feet and locked his golden orbs with Belle's stunning blue ones.

"Hello, Belle. Spaghetti Bolognese and garlic bread sound agreeable?"

Belle's smile only grew. "That sounds _fantastic_!" She set her homework down on the kitchen table. "I brought my essay like you said. Are you sure you don't mind reading it?"

He waved her off as he limped to the teen and picked up the several sheets of paper. "Of course not, Sweetheart, this is what I do-"

He would have said 'for a living' but when he'd thought about it he really didn't need the money. Gold brushed all of that aside and grabbed Belle's essay, he didn't particularly enjoy grading papers but helping Belle got her to spend just a little more time with him; a ruse but a worth while one.

"Why don't you set the dining table for me and I'll read this, hmm? Dinner is almost done, just waiting for the garlic bread."

The fifteen year old flashed him a smile then headed off to do as asked. As he read her work over he found Belle to be full of surprises, some of the work he'd graded for university students hadn't gone into quite this much depth or detail; Belle had a real knack for literature. Her handwriting didn't look like a teenager's though, it had a sort of old world-class to it which reminded him of his own in a way, lots of loops and pronounced Gs, pretty really.

"Is it any good?" She called from the dining area where she'd nearly finished setting the table.

"Quite." He called back as he limped through to her with essay in hand. "I'm especially enjoying your take on how Rebecca's jealousy impacts her identity beyond her just being the second wife."

It wasn't a lie, while he'd seen many of the same points before and frankly there were only so many difference interpretations of Daphne du Maurier 's novel, however, Belle's approach was frankly refreshing. It wasn't quite up to scratch with some of his university students but for a fifteen year old with little to no home support the essay was quite remarkable.

The pair ate once Gold had finished going over her work and had pointed out the one and only spelling error. It had been a long time since he'd just sat and enjoyed a meal with someone so having done so most nights for roughly a month had been quite the surprise to him; back in Storybrooke people would have rather headed for the hills.

They spoke of books, of school, his work and many other things before they'd eventually settled on his shop. To Gold it was just a small, dark shop where people tended to leave him alone unless it was rent day or Regina Mills decided she wanted something, although, to Belle he'd quickly realized it sounded like the Cave of Wonders from _Aladdin_. She'd lit up when he'd told her of the wall of books stored away in there, the glass figurines and antique clocks.

"-why is there a Mickey Mouse?" She asked, her brow furrowed in puzzlement as he munched on the last few bites of her garlic bread.

Gold paused a moment then shrugged. "I honestly have no idea, it's just always been there. I can tell you where everything in my shop came from but that? Not a clue."

Belle didn't appear deterred. "I'd love to see it … the shop not the Mickey Mouse."

"You sure?" People rarely wanted to spend any time in his shop. "It's a long trip from here to Storybrooke. Besides, why would you give up all this sun and sand for Maine?"

Gold would have rather happily had it not been for the beauty sat opposite him finishing her dinner, he hated sand – _despised it_ – and hadn't ever done all that well in the sun; Gold was very much on the side of 'the light, it burns'. Once again, though, Belle didn't look deterred. This girl was hungry for her own adventures, Storybrooke just seemed like the best one at the time.

He went quiet a time as he thought about what would happen if Belle ever did make it to Storybrooke, he'd shower her with gifts and do just about anything to make her stay with him. He owned the old library, he could give her that! Gods, _anything _ to make her stay. Oh, how glorious it could be, to have her in his town, his home, his _bed_ . Dorian's mind froze on that idea a moment, Belle naked and pressed to the mattress beneath him as she called out his name; that was heaven right? To touch her, to caress her, to adore every part of her. Belle deserved that, for a man to adore her; _not you, you old pervert! _

"Dorian?"

He snapped out of his head at the sound of her angelic voice and those honey chocolate eyes flashed back to the teenager to find slight concern spread across her face.

"Sorry, Sweetheart. What were you saying? Old people, we zone out every now and again."

Belle chuckled. "You're not _old_, I have no idea how old you are but you're not in a care home yet."

Dorian just grinned, this girl never ceased to make him laugh; he'd not laughed like that since … ever. Seriously, why couldn't she have been older? He rose to his feet and gathered up the plates while Belle watched him with that friendly face of hers.

"How old are you?"

Oh he should have seen that question coming. Much to his pleasure Gold didn't pause on his way to the kitchen, just kept walking like there weren't thirty-fucking-two years between them.

"I'm forty-seven."

With that he vanished into the kitchen to toss the dishes into the dishwasher, only for Belle to follow him not ten seconds later. Dorian grabbed a small glossed box from the fridge, she raised an eyebrow when she saw Le Bon Choix stamped on the front of it.

"Dessert?"

Belle paused and flashed her eyes downwards momentary uncomfortable, a mood change Gold instantly picked up on and desperately searched for a way out of. He wanted to make her happy, not … whatever this was. Everyone feared or despised him, Mister Gold couldn't take that from her; not Belle.

"Belle? Sweetheart, are you alright?" He asked softly and she finally looked up at him, concern lingered in those cerulean orbs.

"... yeah, it's just-" She trailed off lamely but Gold waited, of course he'd wait. "The weeks we've been friends has been nice, it really has, but-" she sighed "but, you don't have to keep feeding me and treating me and helping me with my homework and taking me to school when it's hot."

In Gold's opinion it was always fucking hot in this country but he got her point. Belle wasn't used to people being nice to her, going out of their way to help and care for her. True, Dorian Gold had started doing it all from a purely selfish origin but he'd grown to like Belle as a person, he wanted her to be happy.

He only knew how to get through the awkward lull in their conversation in two ways, threaten people or try and joke his way out of it; while he was extraordinarily good at the former Dorian opted for the latter.

"I know, Sweetheart. I know I don't _have _to do any of these things, but I don't have any friends here-" _I don't have any friends anywhere. _"and, as we've established, I'm an old man so you have to be nice to me." That got a giggle out of her and oh did it make his dusty heart soar. The cerulean eyes lit up again and she slipped back into the wonderful girl he'd been privileged enough to get to know. "And it would be _very _nice if you helped me eat this cheesecake."

Belle hardly missed a beat. "Well, if it is the nice thing to do I guess I can't say no. Okay, some cheesecake."

"Good, it's a deal." He flashed her that devilish grin of his.

He wasn't entirely sure but not long after their cheesecake the pair had ended up sat at his piano so he could show her some basic scales which – he had to say – she picked up fairly quickly. The music had drifted into silence though as if the notes hadn't ever existed, Gold couldn't have heard a bomb detonate in his bedroom in that moment, not a single sound, because Belle's leg had been pressed against his for a good ten minutes. The dress she wore wasn't anything revealing, just a-line and white with green lace around the collar, pretty but nothing remarkable. However, sat there at his piano her skirt had ridden up somewhat and Gold could feel her warmth drifting through his pant leg.

_What is wrong with you, _ he mentally chastised himself. _You've been around pretty young girls before and not even batted an eye, a few have even been dumb enough to try the old 'I'll fuck you for an A' tactic. _ It was true, it hadn't happened more than a handful of times at different universities he'd guested at over the years but even when it had Gold hadn't even considered it for a moment. _She's not like those girls though, is she? No, Belle is something special, something good. You're a bad man, Dorian. _

Despite his internal anger towards himself he helped her when she couldn't quite get the scale. Gold lifted her delicate hand with his calloused one and pushed her fingers down on each key in turn. She smiled up at him then with a look of triumph but paused when she noticed the way he looked at her, his eyes had softened in a way they hadn't for anyone before and the lines on his forehead had relaxed making him appear younger. Through it all though, Belle didn't take her hand away from his, just let it rest in his gentle grasp while she searched his face uncertainly.

Ever so carefully Dorian brushed a stray strand of auburn hair behind her ear then cupped her cheek. So beautiful, so perfect, so beyond compare. The bruise left by the stairs had faded away to more or less nothingness leaving behind only fair, porcelain skin which begged to be caressed. Seemingly without his permission Gold's hand tilted her head upwards as he leant in and pressed his lips to Belle's. He could have died a happy man right there at that piano. She tasted mildly of the strawberries from their cheesecake and her lips were soft. The elder man's eyes snapped open and he launched backwards as if he'd been electrocuted; eyes filled with horror.

"Oh God, I'm sorry, Belle. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

This was it, he'd finally ruined it just like he ruined everything fucking else. What was _wrong _with him?

"I'm sorry."


	8. Can't Believe I Caught You

March 19th 2016

Tionken, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

This was it, he'd finally ruined it just like he ruined everything fucking else. What was _wrong _with him?

"I'm sorry."

Gold saw the next hour of his life flash before his eyes. Saw Belle slap him across the face and run out of his house as she finally realized how perverted he was. Saw her beg and scream for her father to protect her and call the cops. Saw himself be arrested. Although, most importantly he felt his heart break as the light in an ocean of darkness which was Belle French undoubtedly left him alone in the blackness. Felt her lips press back to his almost timidly – wait, what?!

Dorian's brain clicked from internal horror to external reality to find Belle kissing him, chaste and unpractised but still, _kissing him back_. No, that couldn't be right, maybe she'd hit him with something and this was all some sort of hallucination caused by blunt force trauma.

"Dorian?" She questioned in that heavenly voice of hers once she'd pulled away. "You... you don't have to, em, be sorry. I- I liked it."

_Yep, blunt force trauma. Shit, I'm not getting my deposit back now there's blood on the floor. _But he could feel her hand take his, that wasn't imaginary, the timid way her eyes stuck to his hand rather than his face, it couldn't have been imaginary. _Jesus Christ, this is all real._

Gold forced his brain to function properly once more as he looked this beautiful woman over, auburn hair had fallen forwards to obscure her face while she continued to stare at his calloused hand. She'd liked it? Belle had actually _wanted _his touch? Which god did Gold have to thank for this? Then the logic centre of his mind clicked back on and he went back to internally panicking.

"Belle, I shouldn't have done that. You're fifteen, too young."

Finally Belle peered up at him with those stunning eyes which could have stopped any man in his tracks, there wasn't anger or upset or anything in between in them, no, instead Gold found Belle's eyes full of hope; just pure hope. He glanced down to his hand in her smaller one and squeezed softly which had her head snap up.

"Belle, sweetheart-"

"I've basically raised myself since I was nine, Dorian, so don't say I should be with someone my own age because they're all just irritating children to me. I- I want to be with you. Besides, I'm only one year off sixteen."

_I'm going to Hell._ Softly he stroked a stray lock of hair back behind her ear and cupped her cheek as he looked her over, so beautiful, so perfect and genuinely wanted him.

"That doesn't make it legal, Sweetheart."

Belle shuffled up onto her knees then – slightly awkwardly due to the slender nature of the piano bench – and crawled into his lap, she didn't try to kiss him as he'd expected just cuddled into him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Well, I'm not going to tell anyone and my Papa is as oblivious as Flat Earthers are that they're wrong."

That got a laugh out of Gold, a genuine chuckle which he'd truly needed in that moment. He didn't know how long he sat there with sweet Belle in his arms but it couldn't have been very long. Everything screamed at him that this was wrong but Belle, he craved her, not because of her age but because she was by far the most beautiful and intelligent woman he'd ever had the good fortune to meet. Nothing good ever happened when he acted with his heart but for Belle he'd suffer anything she needed him to; he could be brave enough for that.

Gold tucked two fingers underneath her chin and forced her head up so their eyes could meet. A pause lingered between them, silence where everything was said by the eyes and then he kissed her again, softly and with care. Slowly he slipped his tongue into her mouth pleased when she followed his lead and damn did she learn quickly. When she let out a hummed and needy moan Gold's heart nearly gave out, such utterly perfect sounds.

She slipped from his lap then and stood with her back to the main room, her hand loosely holding his tie up like a bridge between them. Moonlight shone in through the window by his piano making her skin glow and her eyes sparkle like the ocean at night.

"Take me to bed?"

Dorian's entire body vibrated with want at her – surprisingly – only slightly timid words. He should have said no but he couldn't, not when she was right there with her eyes shining. Before Gold knew it he'd started to nod and rose to his feet, he'd walked with a limp for years – ever since a car crash caused by a drunk driver – but no one would have noticed as he guided Belle up the stairs and into his bedroom. Cane forgotten he let his hands settle on her hips as he kissed her, Belle's want hadn't overshadowed her nervousness, not one iota.

"Belle, sweetheart, we don't have to do this. Please don't feel you have to."

"I want to, I do, it's just ..." She trailed off a moment. "I don't know what I'm doing."

Dorian smiled softly. "Oh, I can teach you, darling."

Slowly, so as not to spook her, Gold reached for the zip of her dress and let it fall to the floor leaving her in nothing but her underwear. An animalistic growl he'd not known himself capable of escaped his lips. Flat stomach, firm thighs, budding breasts. Tantalizing.

"Can I?" He asked almost breathlessly as he gestured to her lilac bra.

"Yes."

Such a quietly whispered word but it sounded so loud in Gold's mind, this goddess of a girl actually wanted him, old, broken _him_.

"Lay on the bed for me, little one. On your back."

Belle didn't hesitate which filled Gold with comfort, he'd not be able to live with himself if she'd felt pressured, however, that didn't change his desperate need to touch her, to taste her. He slipped off his shoes, tie and waistcoat before he knelt on the bed; his knee would scream the next day but that wouldn't be anything new. The brown-haired man's long fingers moved to pull her lilac panties off leaving her entirely bare to him, and almost instantly Belle tried to press her legs together but all she succeed in doing was wrapping her legs around Gold's hips. He let out a deep growl from his chest.

"No, no, Sweetling. Let me see you." He purred when she let him look at parts of her than no other ever had.

He peered at the delicate auburn curls of her glistening virginal sex, _so wet and I've only kissed her, _his mind muttered dominantly before his let his fingers stroke along her folds. She moaned, loud and needy, if Dorian never heard another sound ever again he'd die a happy man. She was beautiful beneath him, arms falling from covering herself to grip the bed sheets, lips parted to let little groans and pants escape as his clever fingers explored her wetness.

Belle had touched herself before, she wasn't a prude, but it had never been like this, she'd never felt so desperate for it. Those hesitant and timid feelings which had lingered inside her melted away until she was left with nothing but a craving heat for the man on top of her. She'd dreamed of him kissing her one night a few weeks previous, a silly little dream from a teenage girl she'd cast it off as but the want had remained inside her and now it would finally be released from the world of dreams into real life.

He brought her to the brink of pleasure and then pulled his hand away, her blue eyes flashed with need. Gold wouldn't deprive his darling little girl though, with a grin he slid down her supple body to pepper sweet kisses to her inner thighs.

"Daddy." She breathed, the small word ground him to a halt, ground the both of them to one.

Quickly Belle tried to roll onto her side and curl up in a ball as if she'd never been born but with her legs wrapped around the elder man she'd got no hope, instead, she covered her face with her hands.

"I'm sorry."

Embarrassment, that was what had flooded his sweet Belle but all it had done to Gold was make his hardened length twitch urgently inside the confines of his charcoal dress pants.

"No, no. Belle, sweetheart, look at me." He tried to tug her hands from her eyes but they didn't budge. If asked later Gold wouldn't have been able to provide an answer as to why he said what he did but before his brain could even think of weighing in words escaped him.

"You'll do as Daddy says and look at him."

Slowly the hands came away to reveal tiny tears in those beautiful baby blues of hers and Gold leaned down to kiss them away.

"No need for tears, Belle." Another kiss this time to her soft lips. "I'm not mad or angry and you certainly shouldn't be embarrassed. Why did you call me that?"

"... I don't know. It just- it just felt right."

Oh didn't that make him grin demoniacally. Less sweet, young Belle and more naughty little girl in the making. Gold hadn't thought it possible but his length grew harder with want; he wanted to hear her scream for him. Gold would worry about her age, morality, legality and anything else another day.

"I-"

"Shush, Sweetling. Daddy's going to make you feel good."

The elder man left a trail of increasingly needing kisses down her body until he was between her legs, he hipped at her inner thigh and then was buried at her core just as he'd desired for months. Gold's tongue licked at her folds hungrily tasting the sweet flavor of his girl; because Belle was his now. The auburn-haired beauty gasped out a strangled moan, she'd never felt anything like Dorian's tongue before and couldn't quite put the feeling into words. His tongue lapped at her folds, he was amazed at how wet she was for him, her hands gave up clinging to the sheets and raked into his steadily graying hair instead, gripping tightly as his tongue circled her clit.

He kissed that sensitive bundle of nerves over and over making her scream louder and louder for him, then he slipped a finger inside her. Her grip on his hair became vice like but it only spurred him on as she moaned. Another finger slipped in her wet heat, he crocked them as he kissed her clit. It didn't take long for Belle to start pushing back on his fingers, she was close and he knew that, so he slipped in a third finger. After a few moments of careful thrusting she screamed out wrapping her legs around his head. Gold made sure to keep the thrusts going throughout her orgasm until she was left panting, her eyes fluttered closed. Belle felt nothing but pure pleasure.

"Oh Daddy!" She all but screamed and Gods did that feed Gold's ego.

He smirked when his lips met hers again, knowing she could taste herself on him. He knew she was a virgin but she certainly wasn't innocent any longer. Without another word his lips were on hers, a clash of teeth and tongue that Dorian Gold knew he'd treasure for the rest of his life. Belle could taste herself on him when their tongues met, a battle for dominance that he quickly won. Gold leaned back to rid himself of his pants, clicked open his belt and tossed it away while his brave girl helped with his shirt buttons. He wasn't a muscular man, never had been, but he supposed he was in fairly good condition for a man his age; lean. Gold thought he looked old but Belle just smiled at him once his shirt was somewhere on the ground, not with humor but genuine happiness; she once again proved how brave she was when she kissed his sternum after he'd finally rid himself of his last articles of clothing.

Gold didn't miss the way she eyed his manhood, not with fear but like seeing a new animal for the first time in the wild; he smiled inside his mind. Ever so slowly he pushed her back down onto the bed.

"You've been a very good girl for me, Belle."

_Was that a mew? Did she just mew for me?_ Gold's grin was infectious and his voice enticing, Dorian could probably talk a man dying of thirst into handing over his last bottle of water if he wished.

"You have no idea how beautiful you are, Sweetheart."

He fished around on the floor for his dress pants and tugged out his wallet in search of a condom that he quickly found. People generally hated him, didn't mean he lived like a monk. Belle watched him role it onto his cock, probably commuting it all to memory.

Dorian pressed himself against Belle and she almost forgot how to breathe; this was it, her first time.

"Belle tell me to stop, tell me now because I don't think I'll be able to once I'm actually inside you."

No 'stop' came, nothing, Belle just looked at him with that beautiful and caring smile of hers reminding him she wanted this as well.

"Please don't stop."

Dorian's hips thrust teasingly against her opening, he fisted a handful of Belle's luxurious auburn hair and pulled back hard enough for her to let out a moan; she'd never felt anything like this before and she wanted more. Suddenly he grabbed her thighs and pulled her to him forcefully causing her small breasts to bounce ever so slightly.

"Ready?" Gold whispered in Belle's ear before nipping at it; she nodded.

He forced his lips on Belle for a hard, possessive kiss. She made a small sound somewhere between a whimper and a purr, her hands flew to his shoulders desperately. Dorian kissed and nipped his way down the young girl's body where he soon reached her breasts and took a nipple between his teeth which forced a moan from her parted lips. Belle was his now and Gold wanted – no _needed_ – to mark her, but he couldn't; no, wasn't a good idea.

"Relax Sweetling." He wore a loving smile. "The more you tense, the more likely I am to hurt you and we don't want that." Gold whispered soothingly and Belle felt the last of her worries melt away.

The young woman took a deep, calming breath, willing herself to relax. This was it, one hard thrust and she'd no longer be a virgin, she met his eyes for a moment and knew he'd paused to give her another chance to refuse but Belle wouldn't, she wanted this.

"Please, Daddy."

Belle honestly had no idea what that title did to him. Finally, _finally, __Gold_ pushed into his wildly intelligent girl, slowly so that she could feel every inch of his cock as he buried himself inside her. Belle moaned, her back arched almost against her will. She'd expected it to hurt but there hadn't been a pain, she'd felt something inside her give way but it hadn't _hurt_. He settled both his hands on her hips and forced Belle back onto him that little bit further, she gasped as her head fell backwards against the soft pillows. Gold's thrusts began slow and gentle but soon his need took over and he snapped his hips fast and sharp, he set a hard pace using Belle's hips to pull her back onto him. Gold had wanted to go steady but his own desire and the way she let out a semi-constant stream of 'yes, yes, yes' she let out reminded him this beautiful young girl wasn't as innocent as he'd thought deep down.

Belle could only moan and grip the bed sheets until her slender fingers turned white. The elder man groaned, his hips thrusting powerfully with a satisfying sound of slapping skin. It was true that Belle had no previous experience with sex but her body seemed to know exactly what to do, innate knowledge which Belle let it take over her, she let herself meet his thrusts as she chased after her orgasm. Belle's blue eyes fluttered shut but Dorian didn't allow it, he gripped her neck to force her to look back at him.

"You keep your eyes on me, Sweetheart" He was breathless.

"... Yes... Daddy."

Belle dangled on the very edge, looking down into the euphoric depths below with her this kind, generous, and smart man not far behind her, she wiggled her hips in just the right way, teasing experimentally, and send him into a primal rut, thrusting like his life depended on it. It was then that the teenager grew needier that Gold flipped them so as he could watch his stunning baby girl ride him; his ankle thanked him for that as well. Gold's long and talented fingers gripped her hips leaving tiny little bruises over her porcelain skin, pulling her down onto him, impaling her. Belle gathered up all her bravery and leaned down to kiss him again, gasping at the new angle and the way her kissed nipples grazed against his chest.

"You're perfect."

It was then that she could take it no longer and plunged into the smouldering waters of bliss and euphoria her body clamped down around the older man as she rode out her orgasm, pulling him over the edge and into climax with her.

The sweet young thing collapsed against his chest then, both of them sweaty and panting for glorious air. With her limp against him Gold found it easy to maneuver her so he could toss the used condom into the trash can and shift her until she was settled against his side with his arm around her and a hand stroking through her hair.

"Did I do good?" She asked him quietly as a finger drew little patterns on his chest.

"Oh, Belle, you have no idea."

Undoubtedly the next morning Dorian Gold would return to panicking but for the rest of the night he'd lay there with this stunning angel in his arms and delight in the gift he'd been given.


	9. I Want To Have Fun & Be In Love With You

May 20th 2016

Tionken, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Belle still couldn't figure out quite how it had happened, how they'd gone from nice older gentleman and innocent teenage girl to him inside her at every available opportunity but Belle wasn't going to complain. Both knew there were laws and morals being broken but Dorian made Belle happy and she him, they were two people who'd not been happy in a very long time but had found comfort and care with one another.

Gold continued to take her to school most days apart from during the two weeks where her Papa had magically sobered up and started treating Belle like a princess; unsurprisingly that hadn't lasted very long. Moe had done that before and Belle had always gotten her hopes up that he'd turned over a new leaf but not that time, she'd not bothered. Belle was old enough to realize her father wouldn't ever get better or do anything to help himself, not now, it was too late.

Since her Papa had still been at home when she'd left for school that Monday morning she'd not been able to clamber into Dorian's car and snuggle him before he took her to school, no, she'd gone on her own and sulked through the entire day. Not because of her father or because Gaston – a boy a year above her at school – was the only one who'd noticed it was her birthday and had decided to use it as an excuse to try to get her to meet him after last class. It wasn't any of that, it was the simple fact that she was sixteen now and the one man who genuinely cared hadn't been able to see her.

Belle sulked through her day, hardly paid any attention to the chemistry quiz she'd been given out of the blue; didn't matter, she'd never been all that good at chemistry anyway. Gaston tried talking to her at every available opportunity, why he'd locked on to her when she really wasn't interested Belle had no idea, perhaps it was just some stupid conquest thing or it could have just been the challenge of getting the girl who honestly didn't want him. Nothing Gaston tried would work though, Belle already had her Dorian and she was more than happy with him. She just hoped her Papa never found out about Gaston taking a shine to Belle since he was from a very wealthy family.

The day ticked on slowly and only when the last bell rang did her mood perk up at all. May twenty-first, her birthday and Gold had told her he'd make her a special birthday dinner. So, as soon as she got home – not that Belle rushed, of course not – she flew upstairs and hopped into the shower then went in search of an outfit. Belle knew none of her clothes screamed sexy and neither did her underwear but she did have some cuter things and a pair of slightly heeled boots. Didn't take her long to pick out what she'd wear, a royal blue dress with no sleeves, a scoop neck and a pronounced high-low hem, and she'd just started drying her hair when the telltale sounds of her Papa returning home from the shop. Something bubbled up inside her then, a tiny bit of hope at the bottom of her heart that he'd have actually remembered her birthday. Belle didn't need him to get her a present, hell she'd have been fine without a card, just hearing 'happy birthday, Belle' from him would have done the job. No such luck though, instead she listened to him toss his keys down, head up stairs and go into the bathroom, slam a few doors behind him – not out of anger just because he couldn't close doors quietly – and then march back down the stairs. 'I'm going out, Belle' was all she heard before the front door once more opened and closed behind him. In hindsight she supposed she should have been thankful that he'd even bothered to tell her he was leaving, most of the time he forgot.

No matter what Belle wouldn't let her father ruin her birthday, not with his forgetfulness nor with his gambling and drinking. No! Belle would dry her hair, put on what little make up she owned, get dressed and then slip through the gardens to Dorian. Belle had longed for that all day and that was what she'd damn well get! Once she was dressed Belle looked at herself in the mirror, there wasn't any escaping the fact she looked like a teenage girl rather than the stunning, leggy women on magazines but Dorian Gold hadn't ever cared, he'd touched her with kindness and adoration the entire time they'd known one another.

With an uncontrollable grin Belle made her way to Gold's house and through the patio doors. The house was all lit up and music softly played in the background but the older man himself wasn't anywhere to be seen. She peeked into the kitchen but no, just a heavenly scent of saffron. When she'd glanced all around the main floor – which wasn't all that hard since it was mostly open plan – she called out for him wondering where he'd gotten to.

"Dorian?" No answer. "Dorian?"

"Happy birthday, sweetheart. You look lovely."

Belle jumped because where the hell had Gold popped up from? Had he been clinging to the ceiling or could he teleport? From nowhere he'd just appeared behind her, his breath hot on her neck as he whispered into her ear. The arm not occupied with his cane slipped around her waist and pulled her to him. Dorian hadn't ever been a tall man but he practically towered over Belle which made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"A beautiful, young woman now."

He continued to tease as his hand left her waist and Belle mourned the loss, but only for a second because the next thing she knew soft kisses were being peppered down her neck while a box, small and square, was presented to her. Belle took it with glee, she didn't need presents but Belle wouldn't deny she enjoyed receiving them. It wasn't as if the suit clad man spoilt her – though she suspected he'd like to – no, all the gifts he gave her were so thoughtful and tailored to her tastes; like the books he'd gotten her shortly after their relationship had started, her heart had soared at those.

"Go on then, my love." Gold encouraged as his lips carried on teasing her neck.

The auburn-haired beauty didn't need telling twice, she quickly tugged the bow off the black box and opened it with a beaming smile. Inside she found a charm bracelet that she suspected was real rose gold, it had a stunningly detailed padlock engraved with some sort of flourishing floral design and a single rose charm hanging from it.

"You like?" He asked, attention still mostly on her neck.

"I _love _it! It's beautiful, thank you." While she'd not consider the bracelet bulky or heavy there was certainly some wait to it due to the gold. "You don't have to buy me such expensive things though."

"Nonsense." He said as he rested his cane by the wall and took the bracelet from its box. "Only the best for my darling girl."

With that Gold raised her right arm and clasped the bracelet around her wrist from behind, his chest firmly pressed to her back. He wrapped both arms around her waist then to keep her close as he rested his chin atop her head.

"Be good and you might get more birthday presents." He chuckled to himself.

Belle took that as her cue to spin around snaked her arms around his neck, his chocolate orbs sparkled in the firelight and Belle could have melted, no one had ever looked at her with such … devotion. She smiled to herself when she noticed his tie matched her dress, a coincidence but Belle enjoyed it nevertheless. When she'd first noticed him what felt like forever ago now Dorian Gold hadn't ever looked anything but hard and miserable, like something inside him had broken. Now though, with Belle in his arms he'd lit up, come to life, he'd smile and make himself look years younger, he'd joke and tease. Despite their hefty age gap they were very well suited, Belle had never been one for nightclubs or parties of any kind really, she didn't want to go to do anything people her own age did, not really. No, Belle was perfectly content laying in bed with Dorian reading to her on a warm night.

"You'll make me spoilt." She pointed out after a quick kiss to his lips.

Dorian hummed. "Yes, but it'll be a good spoiling. A daddy's little girl sort of spoiling not an unruly, ungrateful spoiling."

That got a laugh out of the pair before Gold managed to get his beautiful girl to sit down at the table for dinner. He'd made paella which he'd paired with a nice Temparanillo, Belle honestly knew nothing about wine, she'd been sixteen for a day, but she did enjoy the rich flavor. They ate and talked as they so often did, she told him about Gaston and amused him she she'd said the boy had no chance. 'All Dorian's' she had said, and Belle knew it to be the truth, he'd ruined her for any other man and why would she _ever _want another man when Dorian Gold was everything she wanted already? He made her laugh, made her happy, made her forget about her mediocre father.

Soon the paella was gone, most of the wine had been drunk and Belle had gone from having a really rather boring birthday to being the happiest she'd ever been. Her cheeks actually hurt a little he'd made her smile so much. As he'd said there were more presents, a book she'd been talking about and a set of lingerie that even Dorian had admitted was more for himself than her. Well, it hadn't taken a genius to work out what she'd be doing later.

Just when she'd thought dinner had started to roll down and come to an end he'd vanished off into the kitchen leaving Belle a bit tipsy; a little underage drinking was the least of their problems. For a man with a cane the Scotsman could move quickly when he wanted to. A few moments later coffee was brought out only for Dorian to disappear again, Belle wanted to get up and help but she'd been ordered to remain seated like a good girl and Belle would be good a little while longer. Next thing she know there was a cake sat in front of her, a Lucie – clearly he'd been back to Le Bon Choix – with candles shining against the mirror glaze.

Belle could have cried. The last time she'd had a birthday cake her mama had made it. It had been a big, lopsided chocolate cake that had looked a little like a bomb had hit it. Belle hadn't cared what it looked like though, her mama had gone to the trouble of making it, covering the cake with candles and piping 'happy birthday' on the top. While this clearly wasn't a self baked cake it meant the same thing to the one her mother had made; Belle was loved and cared about.

"Make a wish, sweetheart."

Oh she did. Had it been her fifteenth birthday she'd have wished for her father to get better, wished for her mother back or for some real friends. This was her sixteenth though and she had Dorian Gold in her life, a man who had treated her so well and so lovingly. So instead her birthday wish was of him, that Dorian would always love her and no matter what happened they'd always come back to one another. With glee Belle blew out her candles leaving a smoky scent to the air and small trails of gray that drifted upwards into non-existence.

"Is this still the good sort of spoiling?" Asked the teenager happily while Dorian cut her a slice and she quickly plucked a blueberry up.

"Sweetheart, any and all spoiling I give you is the good kind." He teased then held up a fork for her to take. "Tuck in."

"I think you're fattening me up."

Gold rested a hand on his chest to look mock offended, an expression he seemed to have mastered really rather well.

"As if I'd do anything to endanger such a stunning body."

Belle breathed out a laugh. "Ah, 'stunning' am I?" Gold nodded and took a bite of his dessert. "And what precisely is the best bit?"

She was just teasing, the teenager hadn't actually expected a proper answer but then she noticed the way he looked at her – a longing pause where something serious and thought-provoking flashed through his mind – it made Belle's head tilt questioningly.

"Brown hair, beautiful blue eyes, an accent you wouldn't soon forget." His voice remained low and accented but he didn't take his eyes from her face. "Everything about you is perfect but those things especially."

Belle's heart fluttered, she'd only been with this man for a short time and yet Belle never wanted to be apart from him. Dessert forgotten she easily slipped herself into his lap and clung to him while he rubbed a loving hand up and down her back as the other supported her.

"I love you, Dorian." Blue eyes peered up at him. "I love you."

He squeezed her tight. "You have no idea how happy that makes me, Belle. I love you as well, very much."

She pressed her face into his neck and shuffled to straddle him which got him to rest either hand on her hips. Pink glossed lips left small kisses along his jaw and she smiled to herself when he felt him start to harden against her thigh.

"We can finish my birthday cake later." Belle whispered against his skin. "Why don't I go and put my present on and then Daddy can play with me, hmm?"

"Fuck, Belle!" He panted. "Say that again."

Oh that got the sixteen year old to smirk as she pressed herself firmly against him and breathed one word directly into his ear.

"Daddy."

Dorian squeezed her backside with delight then practically ordered her upstairs to change while he tidied away their left over Lucie. Gold hadn't ever pretended to be a good man, most – if not everyone – back in Storybrook thought him some kind of evil monster because they couldn't remember to read the small print. Laws and morals would say he was a bad man for his relationship with Belle as well. However, he wasn't some old deviant or debauchee, Gold wasn't just using a pretty young thing for her body and naïvety, he honestly and truly cared about Belle, wanted her happy and safe and loved for the rest of her life. He hoped it would last but he wasn't stupid enough to set aside the possibility that it wouldn't, it was likely that one day Belle would either come to her senses or find someone her own age she could marry and settle down with, maybe have children too. He'd wanted that when he'd been young as well, a family but it hadn't ever happened. If it came down to it Gold wouldn't stand in her way of having that, he loved her too much to deprive her. Still, they weren't thoughts for now, they were possible horrors for later.

Gold made quick work of cleaning up then grabbed his cane, blew out the candles and went upstairs to the beauty who had decided to overlook the fact he was a beast.

Meanwhile Moe French stumbled home, it took him three or four attempts before he managed to get his key into the yellow door and practically fell inside; he chuckled to himself as he locked it behind him. Moe had gotten pretty lucky and had a good night, he'd won several hands and managed to pay off one of his debts as well, yes, Moe was almost on cloud nine. He shrugged off his coat and hung it up only for it to fall straight off the coat hook onto the floor but the drunk man hardly noticed, instead he shuffled through into the kitchen to celebrate his winnings with one last beer before he went to bed. The fridge light was the only thing to illuminate the kitchen but the pudgy man didn't much care he knew his way to the refrigerator well although, the calendar caught his attention for some reason.

"May twenty-first." Said the drunk to himself. "Why is that date in my head?"

Moe pondered it a moment before he shrugged and shut the refrigerator behind himself and headed up to his bedroom; probably wasn't important. He stumbled into his bedroom and kicked off his shoes then went to the window where he noticed lights slowly going out in the next house over like someone blowing out candles. Moe didn't give the sight another thought, just shut the old curtains finished his beer and fell into bed.


	10. Hey Lolita, Hey!

November 14th 2019

Storybrooke, Maine, USA

While Emma had taken Belle off to interview Gold had been guided into a separate room at the station so Graham could do the same with him. Dorian had expected this but he didn't quite know the ins and outs of Moe French's allegations towards him; sure they were probably true but he didn't need the Sheriff knowing that.

When he sat down Gold rested his cane against the table faced Graham without a hint of fear in his eyes, if they thought they could separate him from his Belle that had another thing fucking coming. He knew Belle wouldn't ever admit to them having been together back in Australia but he couldn't be sure Emma Swan would manage to worm something out of her; that blond could be persuasive if she wanted.

"You know why you're here, Mister Gold." Said Graham as he sat down opposite him. "Allegations of sexual abuse are serious things-"

Gold waved his hand dismissively as he cut the younger man off. "Yes, yes, spare me the 'just doing my job' speech and get to the point. You want the town monster to admit he had sex with an underage girl. Well, I hate to disappoint you but even a monster has lines he doesn't cross."

Graham paused a moment. "Look, I'll level with you. Until Brisbane police get back to me this is all all going to be a lot of he said, she said. On the one hand it I have an entire town to confirm you're not a particularly nice person but a young girl who clearly adores you. On the other hand I've got that girl's father telling me there's already been a police investigation and that you were attempting to groom his daughter for your own purposes. However, that father is a drunk who is very skilled at hiding it."

"Noticed that did you? Good." Dorian sighed. "Alright, Sheriff, you want to know what happened before, fine, I'll tell you. I thought I'd retired from teaching after the car crash-" he gestured down to his bad leg, "- but Regina had been particularly annoying and then I got the request from Brisbane and I thought what the hell. I moved into a nicely renovated place and just went from the house to the university."

Graham nodded and made a quick note. "What were you teaching?"

"English Literature." Gold answered.

"You moved out to Australia and just went too and from work?"

Gold raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a sun and sand person. I went for a break from the mayor's crap and Tim Tams."

That actually got a small smirk out of the bearded man. "And how long were you supposed to be there exactly?"

Gold paused a moment even though he knew exactly. "January to the beginning of December."

Graham finally looked up from his notes. "But you came back before December, I remember it wasn't even Halloween."

"No, I came back in the middle of August."

"Alright, now tell me how you got to know Miss French, please?"

Graham wasn't one of these cops who was quick to judge, no, Graham was a good man. The Sheriff wanted to gather all the facts before he made a real decision rather than just seeing the pieces that read 'town monster' and 'stunningly beautiful teenage girl' then reaching the same conclusion most people would. The Irishman had seen the way Gold had looked at Belle when Emma had taken her off for her interview, it wasn't with worry over what she'd say or if he'd be dropped in it, none of that, there had just been concern for her well-being. If anything that had made the bearded man respect Gold far more than he ever had before.

Dorian sighed again, why could Moe French just let his daughter be happy?

"Okay, okay. She lived in the house next door to the one I rented, I'd seen her in passing going to school and such but never paid much attention to her." Lie! Complete and total lie, he'd noticed her the very second he'd seen her, like a flicker of light amidst an ocean of darkness. "Then one night I found her stood on my patio crying and bleeding in the rain. What was I supposed to do? I brought her inside cleaned her up and got her dry. I wasn't stupid I'd seen her father was an alcoholic but until then I had no idea he hurt her." Another sigh, he'd wanted to murder Moe French in his bed. "I tried to call the police but she _begged _me not to, Belle was so terrified and I just couldn't say no to her. I let her sleep at my house and she went back the next morning."

"Do you think he hit her?"

"That time we met first, no, she fell. I'm not sure about other times, he might have hit her after I came back here."

"Did you tell Brisbane authorities about this when Mister French called them regarding you and his daughter's relationship?"

Gold nodded to Graham's question. "Yes. I told them about the drinking and everything. Obviously they took it on board because they started looking into Moe French rather than me, saw him for what he really was."

The Sheriff made a few more notes. "Clearly you continued a relationship with Miss French, why?"

"It wasn't a relationship, we were just unwitting friends." At least that had been true to begin with, he'd just wanted her safe and happy. "I spent most of my time at the university so it didn't seem like a problem to let Belle come and go as she pleased, it wasn't like she'd steal anything, she just wanted to be away from her father and read my books, wanted somewhere quiet to do her homework. I was an English lecturer so after a few weeks she started asking me for help with it so I helped. After a while having Belle around was normal, then it heated up and her school was on the way so I drove her, wasn't like her father was going to do it. Sheriff I know how strange this looks, believe me, I lived through it thinking it was strange, but Belle has always been very mature for her age, it was easy to be her friend."

Graham paused a moment to just look at Dorian Gold. Truthfully he'd never given the pawnbroker and land lord much thought beyond how quickly he could ruffle feathers and get the mayor's eye twitching, but looking at him in that moment Graham realized what a lonely life Mister Gold must have had. No one in Storybrooke even remotely liked him as far as he could tell except for the weird, rich guy who lived up in that massive house and hardly ever came out; Jefferson something or other. As far as he could tell Gold had no family and if he did they'd likely be in Scotland. A thought stuck him then, the elder man had probably seen a lot of himself in Belle, seen a lonely person who just wanted some peace. Graham's heart softened then and he actually felt sorry for Gold, he could fully understand why this man would have befriended Belle French despite her having been a fifteen year old.

The bearded man cleared his throat. "So what happened when Mister French found out?"

Gold shrugged. "I don't know how he found out, maybe he saw her come through the gardens, maybe he saw me take her to school, I don't know. All I know is that I'd just gotten home and Belle wasn't there, a few seconds later police were banging on my door and asking all sort of questions. Hell, I even got dragged into a police station with cops looking at me like I was a paedophile. They sat me down told me all these things Moe had claimed, things which couldn't have possibly been true." He shook his head as anger at the memories bubbled up. "Apparently he'd said he saw me slap her, said she'd gone running to him claiming I'd raped her. It went on like that for a few days but once I'd told them about Moe French's alcoholism and the gambling they must have re-interviewed him and seen it because all of a suddenly they were asking new questions which were strange."

"Strange how?" Graham enquired quickly, hand still holding his pen so he could jot down notes.

"Things that suggested French had changed his story. I think he was so drunk he couldn't keep it all straight in his mind. Christ knows what they asked Belle, I never saw after that. Police didn't seem to want to tell me much either but eventually they came to me and said they'd not be pressing charges but they recommended I returned to America. The university had, of course, found out about the allegations and terminated my contract so I didn't really have a choice but to come back here. They just kicked me out and gave French mandatory AA meetings, it was like they didn't even want to deal with the problem."

The Sheriff tapped his chin then with the end of his pen as if thinking of something. He crossed a line of his notes out then scribbled down a correction before he looked back to the suit clad man.

"How do you know about the AA meetings? How do you know anything about what happened after you left Australia? And how did Belle get here? We're a tiny town, Mister Gold, people aren't putting us on their bucket list."

Gold took a breath and ran a hand down his face, he'd so enjoyed that morning waking up with Belle warm and naked, how had it all slipped away?

"As I said I didn't see her after the cops showed up, they made certain to keep us separated. I honestly didn't think I'd ever see her again but a few days after I got back to town a letter showed up at my shop. Belle loves books," he explained, "so I'd told her about my shop, where it was. Wouldn't have taken more than a quick google search to find out the exact address. In it she told me everything that had happened, that her father had doubled his efforts to hide his drinking and that the woman checking on her was next to useless, either overworked or just didn't care. Her letter read like she was scared and thought this was all her fault so … I wrote back and it's been like that ever since."

Oh Dorian couldn't even put into words how overjoyed he'd been when that letter had shown up. He'd taken one look at the handwriting and recognized it as Belle's instantly; that and who the fuck else in Australia would have written to him? The man with ash dusting his hair could remember practically ripping the envelope open to get at its consent.

"And her moving here? How did that come about, Mister Gold?"

"One of her more recent letters talked about her father suddenly wanting to move, she thought he'd gotten himself into a debt he couldn't get out of and I was inclined to agree. He'd left Belle to deal with everything as usual so she asked me to help since I'm a land lord. I'm not quite sure when the idea first got mentioned but she wanted to see me again and I already owned a building perfect to be a florist."

That was at least partially true, they'd not started out with her coming to Storybrooke but once it had surfaced there wasn't any going back, Gold would get his perfect Belle and her father could drop dead for all he fucking cared.

"She wanted to live with me, even when she was younger she'd wanted that. So-" He cut himself off for a moment to stare at the handle of his cane. "It's not illegal to love an underage girl, Sheriff, it's the touching that's illegal. I won't lie to you, I've always loved Belle, not because of her age but because she's _her. _I knew she was eighteen so … so I just said yes. I probably should have told her no but I never have been very good at saying that to Belle. Besides, she understands my literary references, she's kind and good and I'm a selfish man so I'll take whatever time she's willing to spend with me."

Graham found that strangely endearing, Gold had certainly been a lonely man but Graham seriously doubted he was a rapist. Like Gold had said, even monsters had lines they didn't cross. Belle clearly wasn't scared of Mister Gold like Moe had claimed and Graham had never seen such care from Gold. Hell, Belle knowing Gold's first name should have been the dead give away that she was important to him, even Graham hadn't known the Scotsman's name was Dorian until Belle had used it.

After a couple more questions Graham concluded the interview and headed out to talk to Emma before they released them. Though he didn't want to jump to conclusions and still needed to check with Brisbane police Graham was fairly satisfied Moe French had gotten it all wrapped around his head due to alcohol and spite. After talking to Emma he decided that while their relationship hadn't been entirely appropriate three years ago it was highly unlikely that there had been any sexual abuse and of course, he couldn't arrest Gold for something which had happened in Australia since there wasn't any warrant for his arrest. Brisbane would clear up the loose ends for him but once they had Sheriff Graham was quite sure that Gold and Belle could go back to their lives. Hopefully Moe French wouldn't end up being a regular in the dunk tank.


	11. Not A Second Thought, Oh, Romeo

June 11th 2016

Tionken, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

When Belle awoke that Saturday morning she stretched almost obscenely before even opening her eyes, but when she did she found Dorian stood at the foot of the bed closing his shirt buttons with his attention firmly focused on her. As soon as she spotted the elder man Belle flashed him a smile which he returned, she probably looked a mess of naked skin and crinkled covers, not to mention the mess her hair had no doubt ended up in thanks to a certain someone's enjoyment of tugging on it to force her to expose her neck to him; okay, they both enjoyed it.

Moe had gone to some casino up near Griffin with a few friends – Translation: assholes who knew what Moe's tells were – so Belle doubted he'd be back for a couple of days. She'd taken the opportunity to essentially move in with Gold until her father came back; something the pair of them had whole-heartedly been in favor of.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Gold greeted as he reached for his tie; black like his suit but made a show of his blood-red shirt.

"Morning."

She beamed at him she pushed herself up onto her knees naked before him and went to help with his tie, of course he didn't really need help but she doubted he'd refuse having the naked sixteen year old on her knees before him.

"I don't know why you insist on wearing these suits, especially while you're not teaching." She said softly as she did his tie for him. "This is Australia not Scotland or Miane, you're going to die of sunstroke one of these days."

She finished and turned his collar back down only for Dorian's surprisingly strong arms to encompass her waist; Belle adored his touch.

"Belle, I am the darkness and the light, it burns." He teased which got a smirk out of her that he quickly kissed from her pink lips. "Besides, I own nothing but suits, underwear and pyjamas."

Belle raised an eyebrow. "What? Not even a swimsuit?"

Gold didn't seem impressed, not that he ever really did.

"Sweetheart, the only reason to go swimming in Glasgow is because it has flooded."

The teenager chucked, a noise of vibrancy and joy which Gold could have mopped up happily. He tightened his grasp on her and kissed her soft lips once more. Dorian still had no real idea why this goddess of a girl had elected to spend time with him let a lone actually _love_ him be he would take everything she was willing to give him.

"But you live in Storybrooke not Glasgow." She pointed out, smirk still on her face.

Gold shrugged. "Learned my lesson." Another kiss, a quick one this time. "Now hurry up and get dressed."

Belle's brow furrowed. "Why? It's Saturday so I was thinking we could just not get dressed and lay around preferably with me on top of you."

Dorian growled deep in the back of his throat, he'd not intended to but that primal side of him just couldn't help it, not with the young woman so amazingly beautiful and pressed against him. He almost broke down and ripped his tailored suit straight off but no, there would be time for that later. Today Gold wanted to so something a little differently.

"You have to get dressed, my love, as much as I prefer you like this." He gently ran his fingers down her flank to her hip and finally came to rest on her porcelain thigh. "We're going on an outing."

That got Belle to perk right up, her eyebrows raised she pressed herself further into his chest with anticipation. They'd never gone anywhere before, well unless they counted when Gold had taken her to school which Belle most certainly did not. This though, this sounded promising.

"Oh?" She asked with a grin. "Where are we going? What are we doing?"

Gold breathed out a laugh at her excitement, he adored his girl's enthusiasm. Belle just had a way of making even the darkest days happy ones, of lighting up the world with little more than a well timed smile and those perfect eyes. He kissed her again, couldn't resist.

"Well, you informed me of a great travesty last week and I'd like to rectify it." Belle's head tilted to the side to silently ask, _huh_; Christ, Gold even thought that cute and adorable. "Darling, you're Australian and yet have never seen a real Koala Bear. So, I will be playing the role of dashing white knight who brings joy to the princess … in a less carnal way. We're going to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary so you can hold one."

Belle beamed, grinned so hard and for so long her face actually hurt. She'd been to the zoo as a child sure but then her mother had died and she'd never gone again. Belle certainly hadn't ever been able to _hold _one of the Koalas before. She looked up at him with those bright blue eyes as she continued to grin, Dorian always went out of his way to make her happy, he'd listened to her and though of a way to fill her with joy. Belle wasn't stupid, she knew her mother never – not for one second – would approve of her relationship with Dorian but Belle hoped that she'd have at least admitted that Dorian Gold was good to her daughter.

She wrapped her arms around his neck so she could cling to him, her whole body pressed firmly against his chest; a feeling Gold savored with glee.

"Good idea?" She could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Great idea!"

Belle quickly got herself showered and dressed while Gold made her breakfast – pancakes and fresh fruit – before the unlikely couple made the journey to the sanctuary. It wasn't a partially long drive, maybe just over half an hour, but Belle enjoyed ever single second of it. Gold drove while Belle stared out the window as they passed by buildings and luscious trees.

This was their first real outing together and while Belle longed to hold his hand the entire time, to kiss him without thinking about it first, she knew she couldn't. That knowledge hurt as they entered the sanctuary but Belle wouldn't let it ruin the day Gold had planned for her. No! He'd done this because he loved her and wanted to see her happy, Belle would hold onto that and treasure it.

That Saturday was a hot one so of course Belle had dressed appropriately in a white sundress, most of the people around them wore casual and looser clothing as well, not her Dorian, not once as they wandered the sanctuary did he so much as loosen his tie. She reached for his hand at one point and treated herself to hugging him around the waist for a moment after they'd seen the Tasmanian devils – or as Gold called them 'adorable hell dogs' – she only let herself hug him because she'd seen a kid just a little younger than herself do the same thing to his dad and though she could get away with it. Belle's plan had worked because no one so much as batted an eye at them, not even when Gold got bold and pressed a slightly too long kiss to her forehead. She'd been rather amazed to discover Dorian wasn't in the slightest hot, not even a bit too warm, frankly he felt like a refreshing patch of shade; that made pulling away all the harder.

Eventually they made it to the Koalas where Gold watched on with that twinkle in his eyes which said he'd enjoy taking that innocent looking dress off of her later. He loved seeing his girl so happy, the way she lit up as a ball of gray fluff was handed to her. Other children chattered at their parents creating an annoying hubbub, birds tweeted, but the suit clad man blocked them all out quickly enough, all to stay focused on the beauty that was Belle French. The entire time he hardly even blinked, much too absorbed with the way she smiled. While she held the Koala Gold thought she looked almost motherly and then quickly cursed is brain for wondering what she'd look like holding her own child. _Sixteen! _He screamed at himself. _Belle is sixteen so shut the fuck up and stop being perverted for five minutes. _

His heart soared when she looked over at him with one of her bold smiles and Gold knew she'd be able to lighten up even the darkest of moments with that smile. Soon the photograph was taken and Belle had to hand the fluffy creature back which she didn't seem too pleased about. A few seconds later a printed copy was thrust out towards him and for a second Gold had to remind himself what the hell was going on rather than just looking at Belle's legs.

"Here you are, sir. You have a very beautiful daughter." Said the blond woman with a kindly smile.

He wasn't surprised in the least by the 'daughter' comment but for some reason it still hurt him inside, not that he'd ever let anyone know that. He took the photograph and thanked the blond before turning his attention back to Belle who'd come to stand beside him.

"Why are you sad?" She asked as soon as brown eyes found her blue ones.

Damn that girl, she could read him better than anyone else. Still, Gold denied it.

"I'm not. How could I be sad when we have a photo of this beautiful smile, hmm?"

Belle knew he was lying but let it slide as they headed over to the small café and Gold slipped the photograph into his inner pocket. He got himself some water while Belle had some sort of ice concoction that she'd lit up at the prospect of; well, he did like to spoil her.

"Are you having fun, Belle?" He asked shortly after he'd downed half the bottle of water.

Belle nodded emphatically, didn't even take a single split second of pause. She shuffled a little closer on the bench they sat on so their legs touched which got a dangerous smirk from the elder man.

"I'm loving it … Daddy."

Gold raised an eyebrow, so she wanted to play that game. He couldn't help the dangerous smirk that tugged its way onto his lips, the way his eyes darkened just a little at the memory of having her pinned beneath him the previous night. This girl would likely be the death of him.

"Behave, little one, or I may have to spank you."

"Promise?"

Yes, assuredly going to be the death of him. Her expression changed from a hungry one to something more akin to confusion or puzzlement then after she'd had another sip of whatever it was he'd bought for her.

"How are you not taken? You're the sweetest person I've ever met."

Gold breathed out a laugh as people continued to go back and forth around them, the smell of food dancing around them as plates were taken to tables. He wasn't sweet, never had been.

"... I was married once." He told her eventually. It wasn't a secret exactly, just something he didn't care much to speak of, Belle though, he felt she had aright to know. "Her name was Milah, we got married when we were very young and for the life of me I can't remember why. I suppose we were meant to love one another."

"What happened?" Belle asked softly with genuine interest.

"I won't lie to you and say it was all her." No matter how much he'd have liked to have just said 'she's a bitch' and moved on. "I worked far too much, guess after a while I neglected her." He took a breath. "We, em, we had a son, Baeddan but we called him Bae. He was the only good thing to come out of our marriage."

When Gold went silent Belle reached a hand over to rest on his own as those blue eyes searched his out in the hopes of comforting him. Something bad had happened, she knew it.

"You don't have to tell me."

Dorian knew she meant that, if he'd changed the subject in that moment she'd not have complained, would have just let him and carried on with their day. Wouldn't stop her wanting to know, Gold was fully aware of that.

"No, sweetheart, it's alright. I told you about the car crash that caused this, right?" He lifted his cane a little and Belle nodded. "Well, it wasn't just me in the car."

"Oh my God." Belle exclaimed as it all clicked for her.

"I'd been taking Bae to school, he was excited, had some project he wanted to hand it." His voice was low. "The car flipped, my leg got pinned and I couldn't move. The only kindness of that day was that the car his the back passenger side door." He took a breath to steady himself. "Bae didn't feel a thing, just blinked and it was over for him. Milah started drinking after that, she blamed me, I blamed me too. After a while I stopped bothering to go and get her from the bar before she passed out. Not long after that she started having and affair and left me."

Belle squeezed his hand, her melting drink forgotten about entirely. She was pleased when he actually looked at her properly.

"Dorian, you're not responsible for a dunk man who decided to drive a car. If you were doing the school run then clearly that man had an alcohol problem worse than my father's. It wasn't your fault."

Gold nodded and squeezed her hand in turn. "I know that, Belle, but you're not a parent. Maybe one day you will be and you'll realize that you blame yourself for everything that goes wrong or hurts them whether it's true or not."

"I love you."

Belle had no idea what else to say. She'd never experienced anything like this, of course she hadn't Belle was only sixteen. She wanted to crawl into his lap and cuddle him better but looking around there wasn't any chance in hell that it would go unnoticed. She didn't want Dorian to hurt, didn't want him in pain but she supposed there never would be an end to the pain for the loss of a child. The teenager suddenly felt so young, she'd got no idea about being a parent, being married anything like that … she did know loss though.

"I know it's not the same but it killed me inside when I lost my mom."

He gave her one of those real smiles than and Belle magically felt like everything would be alright. _How does he do that, _she wondered.

"It's all in the past, sweetheart. Today is supposed to be a happy day and you were having fun. How about you feed some Kangaroos?"

Belle nodded, that did sound fun. "Okay."

It hadn't taken them very long to move on from their impromptu conversation and back to enjoying their time together, something the both of them were thankful for. Moe was gone for at least the weekend and the pair were determined to enjoy themselves.

Gold had amazed himself by telling Belle about Milah and Bae, he _never _talked about Bae. Honestly the only person he'd ever told about the boy was Jefferson – the closest thing to a friend Dorian had. Still, he'd not wanted to hide from Belle for some unknown reason, he'd wanted to be truthful and let her into his life. _You really do love her, don't you, _said his mind as he watched her hold out some food for a particularly large Red Kangaroos. That smile, those dazzling eyes, a heart of gold, how could he not love her?


	12. Whistle All You Want, I'm Not Gonna Say

August 9th 2016

Tionken, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Tuesday, that was the day her world fell apart, just an ordinary Tuesday morning. Then again, Belle supposed that life altering things always happened on the inconsequential days, who ever expected the world to end on a Tuesday? In hindsight she should have seen this coming, should have known something bad would always happen the second she was genuinely happy.

Belle had no idea how her papa had found out, maybe he'd seen her duck through the damaged part of the hedge, or perhaps he'd spotted her in Dorian's house through his bedroom window, Belle honestly had no idea but he had. Moe French had finally figured out – after _months_ – that Belle spent most of her time in the next house with the sweetest man she'd ever met. That was how she'd gotten to where she was now.

Police had shown up from nowhere stopping Belle from going to Dorian's so he could take her to school and she'd not seen Dorian since cops had shown up to take him away in a police car; she didn't know if he'd been arrested or just taken for questioning, who knew what story her father had come up with. She'd been asked so many questions half of which she was certain were the same question just with the words rearranged. They thought Dorian Gold – the kindest, most noble man she'd _ever_ met – had forced himself on her, had raped her! Then that comment had come, that one comment which had made Belle's eyes darken and all the anger she'd locked away and forced deep, deep down to boil over. 'Your father just wants what is best for you', that one comment from some blond woman who seemed more focused on her cell phone that Belle's well-being had her telling them everything about Moe French, about what he was really like because fuck him! She'd told anyone who'd listen just out of spite about the drinking, the gambling, the complete lack of giving a fuck about anything but those two things. Moe French was more likely to read a bedtime story to the Bombora than he was to her. At the start she'd begged Gold to say nothing to the police about her father but now she was angry, why should she have protected a man who hadn't noticed his daughter avoided him in favor of the knowledgeable Scotsman next door for _months_!

Days had gone on like that and in none of them had she so much as spotted a glimpse of her darling Dorian, not even the telltale sound of his cane as he walked. Belle had mostly been kept in her room under the supervision of women in sensible suits who he supposed were either terribly overworked or just bad at their jobs.

Belle had been happy for months with Dorian Gold. She'd actually gotten her grades up in English and had managed to get a better grasp of math thanks to him. Before Dorian she'd just been the strange bookworm who spent most of her time in her room or her mother's garden but now she had a library next door, she had a beginners knowledge of how to play the piano, she had someone to help her with her physics homework when it went completely over her head – not that Gold was an expert – and most importantly she was the happiest she'd been since before her mother had died. Of course her father had chosen that moment to rip it all away from her.

Every time a cop reappeared to question her about Dorian she told them the same things, how good he'd been to her and eventually they seemed to take the information on board, seemed to notice she didn't say anything even remotely similar to what her father had. One policewoman had actually seemed taken aback when Belle had asked if Gold was alright; like she'd not expected her to care in the slightest.

By the end of the week she knew she'd never see her beloved Dorian again, after all this there wasn't any way in hell they'd let him stay in the country but Belle could cope with that as long as he'd not been arrested. He could go back to his home in Storybrooke and carry on freely while Belle continued to deal with her father as she always had. Still, that didn't mean it hadn't hurt deep down in her heart when she'd seen the moving trucks packing away all of his things from next door and taking it away. She'd watched them from her window while her papa played sober for the woman downstairs, she'd watched boxes marked 'books' be tossed into the truck and longed to run over there and grab them, to keep something he'd touched with her. She paused then as realization struck her and peered down at the charm bracelet on her left wrist, Gold had given her that for her birthday, he'd touched that, thought about it. There was a set of lingerie hidden away in a box at the very back of her closet, he'd kissed every inch of her while she'd worn that. Then there was the book on her bedside table, he'd given her that for her birthday as well. She smiled softly, she did have bits of him, they weren't the bits she'd wanted but they were still parts of him. As long as she loved him she wasn't really alone.

Eventually Belle had to return to school and – of course – all the kids had heard about the evil, old man who had attacked and abused little Belle French. Some thought she'd actually been raped and stared at her like she'd start crying any second while others assumed she was some sort of slut playing innocent and had begged for it all. The blue-eyed girl thought herself a little of both, she was playing innocent and she very much had begged Gold for more, but she was also always two seconds from crying because he was gone. America was so very far away.

She thought about him returning to the little town, going back to his pawnshop and all those magical things inside she'd longed to see. She was lonely and she knew he most certainly was. Teachers thankfully went easy on Belle for the most part, so, when she drifted off into her head looking sorrowful they left her alone; left her to her thoughts. Then an idea struck her and Belle had forced herself to stay calm until she'd gotten home and avoided Gaston who'd been trying to play the shoulder to cry on.

As soon as Belle had gotten home she'd barged into her father's room and grabbed his laptop and after navigating through the virus' caused by unreliable gambling sites and a sickening amount of porn she'd gone a google search for Gold's shop, he'd told her about Storybrooke in Maine and she didn't suspect there would have been a lot of antique shops in such a small town. Hadn't taken the auburn-haired beauty more than five minutes to find his shop's full address, that was where he'd have gone. It had all been really rather easy after that. She'd penned her letter slowly so she didn't skip over anything that had happened since he'd been kicked out of Australia or started crying and stained everything with tears. She wrote slowly and informed her beloved Gold that she'd still be staying in the house as long as her father attended AA meetings and then moved on to what she really wanted to say; just how much she missed him. She talked about missing him, about the loneliness and the way she'd started to feel like part of herself was missing. She told him she loved him because Belle truly did love her Dorian. Every word which poured forth came from her heart and hoped it would ease some of his sorrow as well.

Once she'd finished Belle had wiped her eyes then sprayed a little of her perfume – which had once been her mother's – onto the paper to make sure he could smell her if nothing else and sealed it inside the envelope. She'd marked down the address as neatly as possible then mailed it as fast as she possibly could. As she watched the letter fade into the mail box she prayed to any god who'd listen that her letter didn't get lost, not the letter she'd ended 'from your loving Belle'.

She'd hardly sat still for so long after that, the sixteen year old hadn't even known if Dorian would write back. Every morning she'd run to the front door to go through the mail looking for his stunning cursive handwriting amongst the stupid poker magazines and bills. Nothing! Then, just when Belle had started to doubt both herself and Dorian there it was, lingering at the bottom of the pile.

Her heart had soared as she'd charged back up the stairs before school. Despite the desperate urge to open it and read every single word of it Belle didn't, she didn't want to cry and then receive even more unwanted and unneeded pity from her classmates. Instead, Belle tucked the letter at the very back of her underwear drawer where her father wouldn't stumble across if he decided to go looking for money the headed to school. Turned out not reading it hadn't been the best of ideas wither because all day she'd hardly paid any attention, just pondered what the letter said. Gaston had found her at lunch though and made her crave Dorian all the more, for some strange reason Gaston had set his eyes firmly on Belle and didn't seem to be taking 'no' as an answer. People had started to notice as well, they'd managed to reach the – really rather dumb – conclusion that Gaston would be good for her, that she could blossom as a young woman and all that shit. Belle had already blossomed as a woman, she'd done that long ago when she'd been naked underneath Dorian Gold calling out 'Daddy, fuck me harder'. She didn't need nor want Gaston anywhere near her, she just wanted her Dorian. Still, if her teachers and schoolmates had taken notice of Gaston's interest it wouldn't be long until her father found out, he was oblivious about everything except for who had money. As soon as Moe got wind of Gaston's interest – Gaston's _wealthy _interest – he'd be pushing her to date and marry him as quickly as possible. Had her papa known just how rich Gold was he'd probably not have given a shit about her relationship with him, may have even tried blackmail had be been drunk enough at the time. No, instead, Moe had just heard 'older man' and 'teacher' and assumed he was an uninteresting pervert.

When she finally made it home Belle ignored the stares from her neighbors as she put her key in the door; they knew nothing. She'd rushed up the stairs, practically scampered, and slammed her bedroom door behind her, wasn't like anyone else was there to get pissed off. Much to her pleasure her room didn't look turned over so clearly her father hadn't felt the need to steal from his daughter again. She retrieved Dorian's letter and set it neatly on the bed then stripped out of her uniform and into the lingerie Gold had given her, when she read the letter she wanted to have him wrapped around her, wanted him close, maybe it was a childish want or maybe it was something else, Belle didn't really care.

Ever so slowly she opened the letter as she sat on her bed. Instantly she smelt him, the paper smelt faintly of his cologne but not like he'd sprayed it, not as she had with her perfume, no this was just residual from him as he'd written. Just at that she'd felt tears prick in her eyes, Belle hadn't even realized just how much she'd missed that scent. Belle took a calming breath before she read.

_My dearest Belle,_

_I should have known you'd find my shop address, my smart girl. I know this is hard for you and I am so very sorry you had to go through this alone. I couldn't even return to the house to pack my things, they just wanted me to leave the country and avoid you. I couldn't risk putting up a fight about it lest they cart you off to some foster home or somewhere worse. No charges were brought against me though I suspect you already realized that, I will, however, not be allowed to return to Brisbane. I am so sorry my love, you deserved better. The police have made it very clear that while they believed my story – which I assume you relayed as well – and did indeed notice your father's alcoholism, they couldn't risk leaving me to wander around Australia knowing we were spending time together. I suspect that they didn't want to risk the press finding out and that is why they dealt with 'the issue' as they were calling it as quickly as they did. The university was informed due to some of the ages of the students and terminated my contract with them meaning that I couldn't even relocate somewhere outside of Brisbane until December. Any way of staying in the country I had was removed. I didn't leave you because I wanted to, not for one second. _

_Please do not believe yourself responsible for any of this, you are not, none of this could have ever been your fault; not for one single second. Of course I am not angry with you, how could I ever be? You did nothing but love me and that is something I will always treasure, you are the light amidst an ocean of darkness, Belle. You took a lonely, old man and brought him back to life with nothing but a smile because you are a truly good person who only wants to help those around her. I have known so many bad people, Belle, so please believe me when I tell you that you are one of the few good ones. I love you, maybe I shouldn't but I will always love you. My sweet Belle. _

_If you wish to keep writing to me I would be honored. I love you. While I am almost an entire world away I am still here for you, Belle, if you need anything tell me and I shall endeavor to do all in my power to fix it just as I always have. My beautiful girl, I will always do everything I can to help. I don't want you to worry about me, Belle, I have managed on my own for a very long time and am perfectly capable of carrying on. I am fine, I assure you, don't worry about me. I found the photograph of you holding that Koala Bear last night, it had been inside my suit jacket, with that smile staring back at me how could I ever be lonely? I need you to stay strong for me, Belle, because between us you are most certainly the brave one, the valiant one with the adventurous heart. I need you to protect that heart for me because after your eyes it is the most beautiful part of you. You're sixteen now, not long and you can do anything you please with your life and it's all because of that brave, perfect heart. Never for one second doubt that I love you, not one. We won't be apart, we just won't be together. I love you. _

_Love, Dorian _

Belle sat there with the letter pressed to her chest as she cradled it. It smelt of him and the lingerie she wore reminded her of him touching her, kissing her, _loving _her. Maybe it would have been better if she'd done something to be taken into foster care, maybe she could have had a better life. However, this was her mother's house, this was where her mother's roses still resided and without her they'd die for sure. As tears rolled down her face Belle went to stand by her window so she could see the empty house across from her. No, Belle couldn't leave this house, not when she could still see the piano though the window next door.

"I love you too." She sobbed.


	13. Kiss Me In The DARK Dark Tonight

November 14th 2019

Storybrooke, Maine, USA

Emma knew all of this was iffy to say the very least. She and Graham had gathered in the hallway, her leaned against the wall, him with his arms folded across his chest as he stared blankly off at nothing. Both of them were leaving bits out and Emma could guess why, the whole town could guess why, but there wasn't any actual evidence to back that up. Then there was the fact Belle had been animated and direct in her statements, she'd made eye contract with Emma and kept it, hadn't shied away at all. It wouldn't take Doctor Hopper to see that Belle was a well adjusted young woman who honestly had no fear of Mister Gold. Had any of what her father had said been true Belle would have latched on to Sheriff Graham and his deputy the moment she'd had the chance, in fact she'd never have left the diner with him to begin with. Emma could always spot a liar, it was a skill, an innate gift, and Moe French had sent that liar flag up at every other sentence. She'd only met the man once but it had been enough to see his neglectful, alcoholic ways. Emma hadn't ever thought she'd say it but the blond honestly did think Belle would be better off with Gold.

"We've got nothing to arrest Gold on and even though I'm pretty sure he probably did sleep with her it would have been in Australia, which is _way _out of our jurisdiction."

Graham's eyes finally came to focus on his deputy and the bearded man gave a quick nod.

"Yeah, there's nothing for us to do here. If Brisbane sends the file over and it shows a restraining order or that Gold was indited, something like that then we'll return to the topic but frankly, I think we should just let 'em go. Gold's not done anything, at least in the town, and Belle French is legally old enough to do as she pleases."

Emma nodded in agreement. "So cut them loose, hope the Australian police back up what the two of them said and carry on with our day. Cool."

"Hmm." Graham raked a hand down his face. "Thinking about arresting Moe French for wasting police time and lying to us though."

"I wouldn't, man like that, we'll have to pull him in for public intoxication at some point, may as well save yourself the paperwork."

"Maybe you're right, Emma, he'll just think Gold put us up to it and probably take it out on his daughter anyway."

"You want me to deal with Mister French for you?" Emma offered kindly as she stood herself up straight from the wall.

Graham shook his head as he sighed a little. "No. No, I should do it. Might be better if it comes from me. You release Gold and Miss French."

"Can do, boss." She smiled teasingly before she headed off down the hall.

Graham watched as she walked away. Digging further into this would only get people hurt and start the gossip train on a collision course. He didn't want any of that to happen because it would be the eighteen year old girl who got hurt the most and he'd not allow that; Belle French had already suffered through enough problems in her life.

~X~

When Belle had been told she could leave the wave of relief which had passed over her was indescribable, she'd felt as though she were reliving three years ago when they'd taken Dorian away from her, Belle couldn't have survived that again. Why did her father have to try to ruin everything for her? Years ago when she'd been left alone with only letters to contact her beloved Dorian with she'd tried to tell herself that her papa had just wanted her safety, even back then she knew it was all a lie but she'd forced herself to swallow it anyway, forced herself to in order to keep functioning. Her plan had been to turn eighteen and then just leave, emigrate without telling her father and go to be with Dorian, then Moe had raised the desire to move to America and Belle had seen a way of getting to Maine even faster; the one time her father had genuinely been useful.

As soon as they stepped outside of the police station Belle threw herself into Gold's arms and just clung to him while Dorian softly petted her hair. They were outside and none of her worst fears had come true, he'd not been arrested. It took her a moment to realize the elder man was speaking, his voice gentle and loving in a way only Belle ever got to hear.

"... now, Sweetheart, I promise. You heard Sheriff Humbert, as soon as the police in Brisbane inform him that I was never arrested Storybrooke's finest will have no choice but to leave us alone. One email and we will be fine forever."

"Are you sure?" Belle asked, cheek pressed against chest.

"Yes." He confirmed. "I'm sure. How about I take you home and make you an early dinner, hmm? Paella sound good? I've been craving it for days."

That did actually sound fantastic to Belle. She'd stupidly imagined that everything would be better in Maine as soon as she's crossed the 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign she could have started her life with Dorian properly, of course it was more complicated than that.

"A bottle of wine will be in order as well, I think." He said more to himself than the teenager. "Trust me, little one, had Graham and Emma wanted to pursue this I'd be in a holding cell and you've still be sat in an interview room. We're okay, Belle, everything is going to be all right."

Belle nodded, she believed Dorian, had every faith in him. If the brown-eyed man told her they were safe then they were safe. Calmly she looped her arm with the one not holding his cane and together they returned to his – rather large – home.

A few people spotted them as they returned home – of course people saw them it was a tiny town after all – and it was clear that a couple even made comments but Gold was used to that anyway. Give it a few weeks and the gossip would die down again; they'd find something else to complain and whisper about.

Once back inside their home – oh, Gold liked that, 'their home' – he shrugged off his coat and pulled Belle into his arms for a proper hug which she settled into rather happily. Belle gripped him tight as tears threatened to pour from her eyes, she'd held them back the entire walk home but now they tried to tumble forth.

"Hush, my love, no tears, everything is well." He assured her in a gentle voice.

"I just want to be happy. I just want to be with you, why can't everyone just accept that?" She asked, voice slightly muffled by her face being pressed into his neck.

Gold sighed, a sound which echoed around his body. "Because you are so young and I am not a nice person. Your father may have started all of this out of his own selfish interests and certainly spite now, but the Sheriff honestly does just want to make sure you're safe. Graham Humbert has a good heart. Still, he now knows that I've not hurt you, that you are safe and loved and have had to survive a father like Moe French. Everything is going to be fine, I assure you." He pulled back so as he could tilt her head up with two fingers and stare into those dazzling blue orbs. "I love you, Belle."

"I love you too." She responded with a soft smile before pressing their lips together for a kiss which quickly deepened. "... Daddy."

Gold hummed as his eyes slipped shut. "You're trying to kill me, aren't you."

Belle shook her head even though it hadn't really been a question. "No, but it's been a horrible day and I want my Daddy to play with me."

He grinned devilishly. "Well, I think that can certainly be arranged. Dessert instead of dinner then?" Dorian teased as his arms tightened around his beautiful girl's waist. He kissed her lips lovingly a moment then brushed upwards to whisper in her ear, voice thickly accented. "You had better be naked by the time I get upstairs, my love, or I might have to punish you."

That got a grin out of Belle and then she was off up the stairs, fingers already on the small buttons of her blouse. Gold smirked to himself as he watched her vanish up the stairs, this girl was certainly going to be the death of him but he didn't think he'd mind.

He stepped into the somewhat cluttered living room and sat down on the sofa a moment as he organized his thoughts. This was finally it, Belle was in his house – very naked – and waiting for him, she was staying and his and couldn't be forced to return to her father again. Honey chocolate eyes flashed up to the photograph on the mantel of his sweet Belle holding that Koala Bear and smiled to himself. He remembered the mass of letters they'd sent to one another over the years they'd been separated, remembered her worry when Moe had tried to force her into a relationship with Gaston just for money, remembered every single word. Dorian still wasn't sure if he deserved a woman like Belle but he was a greedy man and he'd take whatever she'd give him.

August 3rd 2020

Storybrooke, Maine, USA

Gold awoke to bright light, a light he quickly determined to be the sun peeking though a small gap in the curtains, he just rubbed his eyes and turned his attention to the stunning young woman laying beside him. Dorian smiled down at his beautiful, young wife as she continued to slumber. A stray lock of auburn hair had fallen across her face as she slept to he quietly tucked it back behind her ear with a gentle smile. He let his fingers trail downwards from her shoulder to her waist and then over the gentle swell of her belly where he quickly felt their child move.

Gold smiled gently. "Awake before your Mama again, hmm."

Most in Storybrooke had believed the marriage and subsequent pregnancy of Belle Gold had been much too fast but to the couple it had been long awaited. Gold had waited for this since the second he'd kissed her sat at that piano in Brisbane, had imagined her with his name and his child inside her right from the very beginning. True, he'd tried to push the thoughts away at the start what with Belle having been so young but now his with had come to fruition and she did have his name, she'd soon give birth to their baby and Gold couldn't have been happier. All his worries and problems had sailed away, well, all problems but one; whether to name their daughter Rose Colette or Colette Rose, Gold leaned to the former.

Softly he pressed a gentle kiss to Belle's forehead, a hand still on her belly. He wasn't sure what he'd done to gain this second family, this second chance at happiness with someone who truly loved him, but Gold thanked that dead part of hedge every single day for it. His Belle, his daughter.

The End.


End file.
